March 2nd, 2013 
Matt Loede 
Posted in 
Defensive tackle Henry Melton will be going nowhere this offseason, as the Bears placed the franchise tag on him late Friday evening.
Monday at 3 p.m. was the deadline for teams to designate a player with the franchise tag. The franchise tag for defensive tackles is $8.45 million, according to Albert Breer from the NFL Network.
“Henry has been a good player for us and we are using the franchise tag so his development continues as a Bear,” General Manager Phil Emery said in a statement. “We will continue our conversations with Henry and work toward a multi-year agreement.”
The Bears and Melton still have the ability to work out a long-term deal, but the sides apparently are very far apart. Such a long-term deal would be more cap-friendly for the Bears with the salary cap reportedly set at $123 million.
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