The Facts: The Eagles have placed their franchise tag on tight end L.J. Smith, NFL Network's Adam Schefter is reporting. "L.J. Smith has been a very productive tight end in our offense," said HC Andy Reid. "He is healthy and working his tail off so he can have a very successful 2008 season."
Diehards Line:NFL teams were able to begin placing franchise tags on players on Thursday, and have until Feb. 21 to do it. The franchise tag for TEs is $4.522 million. If Smith were to receive a contract offer from another club, the Eagles would have seven days to match the offer. If they choose not to match the offer, then the Eagles would receive two first-round draft choices as compensation (a very high -- mostly likely a prohibitive -- price). If Smith re-signs with Philadelphia, he would receive a one-year contract equivalent to the average of the top five highest paid players at his position in the league. ... Smith, 27, has caught 194 passes for 2,227 yards and 15 touchdowns during his five-year career as an Eagle. He comes of an injury-plagued 2007 in which he posted 22 receptions for 236 yards and one touchdown in 10 games.