Join *Jaguars Inside Report *Senior Editor Vic Ketchman as he tackles the fans' tough questions.
Ryan Glenn from Atlanta, GA:
Which Jaguars players will end up leaving this offseason as unrestricted free agents?
Vic:
Sean Dawkins, Todd Fordham, Kevin Hardy, Mike Hollis, Damon Jones, Jeff Posey, Jonathan Quinn, Jeff Smith, John Wade and Renaldo Wynn are the Jaguars players scheduled to become unrestricted free agents. Even though Jones was cut by the team in December, he was not claimed and because he was waived/injured he was returned to the Jaguars roster. Hardy's contract expires the next to last day (Feb. 27) of the current NFL calendar year, and Wynn will become an unrestricted free agent when he doesn't receive his $6 million roster bonus on March 1. Even though that would suggest Hardy and Wynn will technically not be on the Jaguars roster when the free agency period begins, their contracts are written in such a way that the Jaguars would receive compensatory-pick consideration for having lost them to another team. I think it's likely the Jaguars will re-sign Dawkins, Fordham and Wade. The Quinn situation is up in the air, but once he hits the free agency period, I expect he will become a more valuable commodity than most Jaguars fans consider possible.
David Ostojic from Lakeland, FL:
If we were to cut Hardy Nickerson, how much cap relief would it provide us, if any? I know he still has two years left on his contract. How much amortization is left? It would seem illogical to keep a 36-year-old player on a reloading team. A late draft pick or free agent has a chance to be there next year; he doesn't.
Vic:
Hardy Nickerson is scheduled to be a $5.8 million hit on the Jaguars' 2002 salary cap. His remaining bonus amortization is $4.4 million, but $750,000 of his $4.3 million salary in '02 is guaranteed, which means the Jaguars' would take about a $5.2 million hit on their '02 cap if they cut Nickerson before June 1. That would still be a $600,000 cap savings. If they cut him after June 1, Nickerson would be a $2.25 million hit in '02 and a $2.9 million hit in '03.
"Big" Jim DePalma from Brooklyn, NY:
The politicians gave the Weavers the best deal ever given to a pro franchise. Why did this owner respond by charging the fourth-highest price for tickets in the NFL? In your opinion, if the price is right, would he go to Los Angeles?
Vic:
Wayne Weaver has steadfastly maintained the Jaguars do not have the fourth-highest ticket prices in the league; that published reports are incorrect. In my opinion, there is no chance Weaver would even entertain an offer to move his team. He has moved himself, his family and his business interests to Jacksonville, where he has rooted himself and his heart firmly in the community.
Don Hilton from Jacksonville:
Here's your chance to beat all the competition and pick the next hot team in the NFL. With all this parity, who do you think will be the next surprise team such as the Rams, Ravens or Patriots? I am not asking you to predict the next winner of the Super Bowl, just who you think will rise from nothing to something this year.
Vic:
I believe Kansas City offers the potential to be that surprise team in the AFC, and Arizona in the NFC.
