The franchise tags are coming fast and furious. Texans CB Dunta Robinson and Seahawks LB LeRoy Hill are the latest young talents to be kept off the market. With Jordan Gross signed long-term, the Panthers have franchised Julius Peppers. They are likely to seek a trade, but may also try to exhaust all chances of retaining him. This once-promising free agent class is drying up before it starts.

It’s not that Robinson and Hill are truly top-five talents at their position. It’s just that there is SO much cap room these days and one-year deals are essentially team friendly, no matter how high the cap number. Soak up a player’s prime while you can and worry about a long-term deal later.

It remains to be seen how the economy changes free agent spending. But the record quantity of cap room has had a profound effect on free agency. Staying under the cap is so much less of an issue than it used to be. That’s why the Patriots can spend $29 million, for now, on quarterbacks. That's how the Panthers can keep Gross and Peppers. That's how Nmamdi Asomugha can get $45 million over three years. (Make that money!) With the exception of a few teams, most are not overly hamstrung by cap considerations. Teams simply don’t let young players they want to keep walk away, with very few exceptions.

Update: After Max Starks was tagged, we have reached a record 14 tags. 11 was the previous record.