"The Jaguars will most likely keep their Pro Bowl tight end for at least another year.

Jacksonville placed a non-exclusive franchise tag on Marcedes Lewis on Wednesday, unable to reach a long-term deal. The Jaguars will continue to negotiate with Lewis' representation until March 3, when the current collective bargaining agreement expires. After that, they will have to wait until a new collective bargaining agreement is in place before resuming negotiations.

Because the tag is non-exclusive, Lewis can negotiate with other teams once the free agency period begins after a new CBA deal is reached. But any other team would have to give the Jaguars two first-round draft picks in order to sign Lewis.

"Our goal remains the same, for Marcedes to be a Jaguar long-term," Jaguars general manager Gene Smith wrote in an e-mail. "This season, he earned the honor of being selected to his first Pro Bowl and really emerged as a leader on our team."

The franchise tender for tight ends next season is $7.3 million. It is the average of the top-five salaries at the position.

Lewis said earlier this month that he wants a long-term deal with the Jaguars. He said he was told during his exit interview after the season that signing him to one was a priority for the Jaguars.

"That's like a catch-22 because you can look at it two ways," Lewis said Feb. 9 when asked how he would feel about being franchised. "OK, they franchised me so they want to keep me here to play. But then if that was the case, then why not just sign me to a long-term deal. You don't know what to think."

Lewis set out to have a career year last season, and he did it. The organization asked him to work out in Jacksonville in the offseason rather than return to California, and he did. They looked for improved leadership and saw it. Early in training camp, Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio called Lewis the most dominant player in camp.

Well-known as a talented blocker, the 6-foot-6, 275-pound tight end became the Jaguars' most significant red-zone threat last season. Lewis had seven touchdowns in his first four seasons with the Jaguars, but he more than doubled that total in 2010."