JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Richard from St Augustine, FL
Fair amount of moves and feels like Jags are a little better off! What say you, O King?
The Jaguars indeed were busy Monday, reportedly agreeing to terms with/signing multiple players – including center Mitch Morse (Buffalo Bills), safety Darnell Savage Jr. (Green Bay Packers), wide receiver Gabe Davis (Bills), wide receiver/returner Devin Durvenay (Ravens) and cornerback Ronald Darby (Ravens) – on the first day of the NFL's so-called legal tampering period for 2024. Because Morse was released by the Buffalo Bills this offseason, he is not an "unrestricted" free agent – and his deal can become official in the next day or so. The other deals can become official at the start of the NFL League Year Wednesday at 4 p.m., the same time the Jaguars' reported trade for New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones can become official. I don't know that Monday was all that "unexpected," because I don't know that anyone ever knows exactly what to expect on the first day of tampering; it's an NFL truism that pretty much all predictions for that day become very antiquated very quickly. Also: Any free-agent signing is inherently risky because for whatever reason his former team opted to not re-sign that player. But the Jaguars at first glance made multiple moves that made sense. Davis appears to fit well with wide receivers Christian Kirk and Zay Jones and tight end Evan Engram, with Durvenay a logical replacement for Jamal Agnew in the returner/complementary receiver role. Savage is a logical replacement for recently released safety Rayshawn Jenkins and likely will start alongside Andre Cisco with second-year veteran Antonio Johnson free to play an extensive role as a "big nickel." Morse likely will stouter and more dependable in the middle than Luke Fortner, who struggled in those areas at times in his second season last season. Darby is an experienced veteran who seems to be a better scheme fit for defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen's defense than recently-released Darious Williams. It may not have been the most spectacular Day One of legal tampering in recent Jaguars memory. But this free agency wasn't about spectacular as much as flipping some positions on the roster in necessary fashion. The Jaguars certainly did that.
Greg from Jacksonville Beach
Free agency is going strong and once again … nothing to be found on jaguars.com. Weak. Very weak.
Your reaction is understandable because Monday indeed was a busy day for NFL and Jaguars news. I'll repeat here what I have written often on previous such days for the last decade-plus. The policy here at jaguars.com is not to report signings until they are official. That means waiting until a player has signed a contract or until officially has been released to officially acknowledge such transactions on the team website or on social media channels. The reason for this was illustrated Monday, when kicker Wil Lutz reportedly agreed to terms with the Jaguars before re-signing with the Denver Broncos. Deals aren't official until they're official – and they're certainly not official because they're tweeted and retweeted on the first day of legal tampering.
Big Jags Fan from Jacksonville
The Mitch Morse signing is much needed to upgrade the center position. The Gabe Davis signing makes sense as it will most likely cost less than re-signing wide receiver Calvin Ridley – and Davis is four and a half years younger than Ridley. Does this mean the end of Ridley in Jacksonville? What about Jamal Agnew?
Stay tuned with Ridley. He had not signed anywhere as of this writing – and in this case, no news could be at least OK news. Signing Duvernay almost certainly means Agnew, who will become an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday, will not return.
Dave from Jax
This front office has shown a pretty consistent strategy regarding free agency and the draft. Every year, General Manager Trent Baalke focuses on using free agency to shore up weaknesses so that he has the option of drafting true Best Available Player to add strengths. That's what the center, safety and wide receiver signings say to me. I think we go defensive line again first round of the draft.
Most front offices take the approach of filling needs enough that they don't have to reach in the early rounds of the draft. The NFL adage is you want to be able to line up before the draft. Baalke certainly tries to do this. I would lean toward cornerback for the Jaguars at No. 17 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, but there's plenty of time to debate this as the draft approaches.
Daniel from Johnston, IA
Ok, I don't get the Mac Jones trade. From this fan's perspective, the only thing wrong with C.J. Beathard was a coaching staff that insisted on playing an injured Trevor over a healthy C.J. I don't see Mac Jones really changing that at all. Sigh.
I think the team's decision-makers have a different perspective than this fan's perspective.
Brian from Orange Park, FL
Zone, does signing Packers' safety Darnell Savage mean the Jags view Antonio Johnson as more of a nickel corner? Were coaches able to assess that skill set in the brief time he was available, do they think one of the later round corners taken over the past couple years is ready to play in the slot, or do you foresee us drafting multiple cornerbacks and possibly starting two rookies?
My sense is the Jaguars may see Johnson as a nickel safety. There's a good chance in Nielsen's scheme that the Jaguars will be in nickel in a lot of situations – and that at least one of the primary nickel schemes will have three safeties on the field. That could mean packages with Savage, safety Andre Cisco and Johnson on the field. Remember: More and more NFL defenses play five defensive backs and two linebackers. It's a pass-centric league with defenses emphasizing speed for coverage and run-pass-option offenses. Nickel used to be "a sub package." In the NFL these days, it's more often the base look – which increases the need for multiple safeties who can play multiple roles.
Bryan from Tampa, FL
The Jags got more expensive Monday. Did they get better?
While the Jaguars certainly spent significantly Monday, I don't know that the day felt all that "expensive" in the NFL's world of continuously escalating free-agent salaries. Did they get better? Sure, potentially. And all the moves Monday on the surface make sense. NFL free-agency moves by their nature are fraught with risk. You pay above-the-market salaries for players who for some reason aren't returning to their former teams. At the same time, the Jaguars for the most part have been very successful in free agency in Baalke's three previous offseasons as general manager. Will the latter trend continue? That's the hope. We shall see.
Karter from Navy
Hey, Zone. Seems to me the Jags value the second-round pick too much to re-sign Ridley. So, they pick up Gabe Davis to fill that WR2 role and keep the second. I think it makes sense. A second-round wide receiver maybe becomes our WR1.
Maybe.
Justin from North Augusta, SC
O-Zone, per ESPN, wide receiver Tee Higgins has requested a trade from the Cincinnati Bengals. Talk about potential jackpot trade … Higgins for Ridley. The chemistry is already there from Clemson.
I would be very surprised if the Jaguars went the "jackpot trade" route at wide receiver this offseason. I'm not saying it won't happen. I'm not saying it wouldn't work if they did it. But if feels as if the Jaguars want to get back to a four-receiver system with all receivers being "WR1A" or "WR2" rather than having a so-called "WR1." Maybe that's wrong. Maybe something will work out and Ridley will re-sign. But I would just be surprised if the Jaguars pursued a jackpot trade at the position. Stay tuned.
Don from Marshall, NC
Calvin Ridley is not even the best receiver on the team. Go Jaguars!
When it comes to Ridley, Don evidently is not "all in."
MrMakersMark from E 3rd Street
John - The fans should not care about Matt Jones coming in to play or even compete. Jaguars Head Coach Doug Pederson already showed that he would prefer a banged-up Trevor Lawrence than a healthy backup quarterback that got the Jags a win late in the season.
Former Jaguars receiver Matt Jones is 40 years old and last played in the NFL in 2010. I would play a banged-up Lawrence over him, too. But maybe the fact that Pederson preferred to play a banged-up Lawrence instead of the backup late last season was a reason the Jaguars reportedly acquired Jones in a trade this past weekend?
Rusty from New Iberia
* "The policy here at jaguars.com is not to report signings until they are official." Who made this rule and how do we get it changed?*
It's a common policy among NFL teams. I don't expect it to change.
