The franchise tag, while lucrative in the short term, is usually an option that players try to avoid. In a league dominated by injuries, a one-year expensive contract isn't a star player's goal. The goal is to get guaranteed money over a substantial number of years. But the franchise tag limits their chances to sign a long-term deal seeing as players lose the opportunity to negotiate with 31 other teams. Teams love the tag. Players should hate it.

Cowboys defensive end Demarcus Lawrence, who got hit with the franchise tag on Monday, doesn't see it that way. Or at the very least, he's not talking about in those kind of terms. Instead, Lawrence seems to be embracing the franchise tag. 

When the Cowboys tagged him on Monday, which was the expected outcome, Lawrence seemed pretty OK with the idea of making more than $17 million next season.

On Monday nght, Lawrence elaborated on his mindset to NFL Network's Jane Slater. According to Lawrence, the franchise tag is a situation he's ready to exploit.

"I feel like they have given me the opportunity to really break the bank next year," Lawrence said.

Lawrence isn't wrong in theory. If he can stay healthy and post comparable numbers in 2018, he'll get his payday considering he'll be coming off two dominant seasons instead of only one. He's turning 26 in April. So, age isn't really a concern. The only concern is that he suffers an injury or experiences a dip in his quality of play. 

Based on the way he played in 2017, he probably isn't overly concerned about declining. If anything, it looks like he's only just beginning to peak. A second-round pick in 2014, Lawrence registered nine totals sacks in his first three seasons. But in 2017, Lawrence broke out for a career-high 14.5 sacks. According to Pro Football Focus, he was the most productive pass rusher among 4-3 defensive ends, racking up 79 total pressures. He posted average run-stopping numbers (15th out of 30 eligible players in stop percentage), but the Cowboys aren't tagging him to stop the ground game. They're tagging him to hunt opposing quarterbacks. The NFL is still a league dominated by quarterbacks and pass rushers. The Cowboys now have their dominant pass rusher and their quarterback.

There's always a chance the two sides reach a long-term agreement before the mid-July deadline, but based on Lawrence's comment, it doesn't sound like he's willing to settle for less money over a longer period of time. It sounds like he's willing to bet on his talent on what is essentially a one-year, prove-it contract. He's not necessarily wrong in doing so. 

We just watched Kirk Cousins bet on himself and exploit the franchise tag. Now he's hitting free agency at the perfect time and is poised to cash in with a record-setting deal. If you play the tag right, you can benefit from it. But the opportunity comes with big risks. It likely all comes down to staying healthy.