"Meanwhile if a franchise tagged player doesn't report, in week 1 the entire tag amount counts against the team's cap."
It is my understanding that the entire tag amount counts against the cap as soon as the player is tagged. For example, if the Rams had slapped the franchise tag on Saffold he would currently count $14.067M against the cap even if he didn't sign anything. Then if Saffold and the Rams agreed to a contract at some point the terms of that contract would replace the tag amount as far as cap accounting goes.
AlbaNY_Ram
