Arbitrary franchise-tag deadline for doing long-term deals needs to go

On the surface, it might seem odd for franchise-tagged players like Giants running back Saquon Barkley and Raiders running back Josh Jacobs to be threatening to not show up for future events like training camp and/or the start of the regular season when those things are still weeks into the future. The NFL’s odd rule regarding the tag makes it a necessity, however.

The league and the union agreed that players saddled with the tag can’t sign multi-year contracts after July 15. (This…