This from the Bengals to the GetSports Desk. . .

The Bengals today designated OL Stacy Andrews as the team’s franchise player, under terms of the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The franchise tag gives Andrews the option to play for Cincinnati in 2008 for a salary equal to the average of the top five offensive linemen in the NFL for the previous season (2007 in this case).

Andrews will be a fifth-year NFL player in 2008. He is presently unsigned for ’08, and he will become an unrestricted free agent on Feb. 29 if he does not reach a contract agreement with the Bengals prior to that date. The franchise-player designation means that the Bengals could retain Andrews by matching any offer sheet he would sign from another team, and that if the Bengals declined to match a signed offer, the team signing Andrews would be required to give the Bengals its first-round choices in the 2008 and 2009 NFL Drafts.

"Stacy has been a productive young player for us," said Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis." He has shown the flexibility to start and play well at a number of different positions on our line. This move helps us keep our core players together, and it gives us an opportunity to continue negotiating for a longer-term contract with Stacy."

Andrews played in every Bengals game last season, with 14 starts. He started Games 1-3 at LG, but later replaced injured Willie Anderson at ROT, starting at ROT in Games 5 and 7-16. He was a key contributor to the team’s record-low total of 17 sacks allowed. The Bengals ranked second in the NFL in fewest sacks allowed, one off the pace of league leader New Orleans.

"The franchise option is designed to help a team retain the rights to a top player," said Bengals vice-president Troy Blackburn. "The players’ union supports it because it guarantees that player a salary commensurate with what he has accomplished."

The Collective Bargaining Agreement permits a new agreement between Andrews and the Bengals to be reached at any time prior to July 15.

ANALYSIS: This is a HUGE statement about a player that only managed to start 17 games in his career, but he would made much more money on the free agent market. The tag means that Bengals will pay Andrews $7.455 for the upcoming season. He was a project coming out of Ole Miss in 2004, but Andrews has developed into building block who can play both guard and right tackle.

This means that the team will have to re-sign Justin Smith or risk losing him if a deal can't be reached.  It could also signify the end for Willie Anderson. This was a must make move for the Bengals and last off-season's poor decision to let guard Eric Steinbach walk.