JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jaguars have major questions facing it after a second-half implosion cost it the AFC South title and a playoff spot. Jacksonville finished 1-5 down the stretch and had its freefall cemented with a 28-20 loss to the Titans on Sunday. News4JAX looks at things the Jaguars need to address in the offseason.
Explore a Trevor extension
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This offseason is when teams can begin to re-sign players taken in the 2021 NFL draft. That means players like Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne and Tyson Campbell can ink new contracts. Getting a deal done with Lawrence is priority No. 1. He hasn’t been the generational prospect since being taken No. 1 overall, but Lawrence has been a top 10 quarterback at his peak. He needs more help and needs to be better at turnovers (60 lost in three seasons) against 67 total touchdowns.
Lawrence will continue to improve, and a good bit of that should happen with a better offensive line. He was sacked 35 times in 16 games and suffered injuries to his knee and ankle, as well as a concussion. That’s more than he was sacked as a rookie in Urban Meyer’s disastrous tenure. Jacksonville enters 2024 with roughly $26 million in cap space, according to Spotrac.
Think about new coordinators
There’s enough blame to go around EverBank Stadium. How much of that should fall on coordinators Mike Caldwell and Press Taylor? I think a fair amount is reasonable. Caldwell’s defense was taken apart in the final six weeks of the season by: Ryan Tannehill, Joe Flacco, Baker Mayfield and Jake Browning. It played its best against Lamar Jackson and befuddled rookie Bryce Young. Taylor’s playcalling may have been the hot talker this season for an underachieving offense, but at least that side of the ball had a glut of injuries to point to. For all the resources the Jaguars have invested in their defense, it shouldn’t be this bad. Will Doug Pederson make a change?
Is the GM safe?
General manager Trent Baalke hit on free agency in 2022 and parlayed that into an AFC South title. This year, Jacksonville essentially stood firm and that decision was costly. The team needed more along the offensive line and didn’t react. It needed a lot more on the pass rush and didn’t react. Instead, it drafted tight end Brenton Strange in the second round, a move that could turn into an all-time miss. Strange had five catches for 35 yards and a touchdown all season. Jacksonville had far more pressing personnel needs than tight end. Does owner Shad Khan (below) give Baalke the benefit of the doubt for another important offseason? Why would he?
Tag or re-sign Josh Allen
Josh Allen played on the franchise tag this season and turned in the best season by a pass rusher in franchise history. He will be rewarded in town with a new deal or the franchise tag. Allen in Year 6 and Travon Walker entering Year 3 has the potential to be the league’s best rushing duo. Allen will be paid well by the Jaguars or another franchise.
Get a true No. 1 receiver
Is that a decision to bring back Calvin Ridley and draft a potential No. 1, or should Jacksonville tap into a free agent pool that could include Mike Evans and Tee Higgins? Ridley didn’t develop into the high-end No. 1 receiver that Jacksonville envisioned when it traded for him at the deadline in 2022. but he still led the Jaguars in receiving and drew a slew of pass interference calls. But Ridley (pictured below) wasn’t the alpha receiver. Jacksonville needs that desperately.
Re-signing Ridley does cost Jacksonville a second-round pick as part of its trade with the Falcons, but it could re-sign him after the NFL draft to push that pick out a season. Ridley had 76 catches for 1,016 yards and eight touchdowns this season to lead in two of those three categories. He’s 29 years old and still has some tread on the tires. Another option would be in free agency and Higgins, who is positioned for the market (provided he’s not franchise tagged). He’s a big body (6-4) that the Jaguars have lacked. That would allow Ridley to play more as a second option and Kirk in the slot.
Upgrade the interior of the offensive line
This should be priority A, B and C. The offensive line stunk even more than it did in Lawrence’s rookie season. At its best, the line was probably a tick below average. Right guard Brandon Scherff and center Luke Fortner were below-average players. Those positions need an upgrade. Scherff’s dead cap cost is nearly $15 million, so moving on from him isn’t as easy without some creative accounting.
Left tackle Cam Robinson’s deal includes just $5 million in dead money, and the team could save nearly $16.5 million from moving on. But Robinson was the team’s top tackle and Jacksonville was even worse with Robinson out. When the Jaguars drafted Anton Harrison in the first round last April, it looked more likely that Robinson wouldn’t be back. Could he return with a restructured deal?
Draft better!
Seems so easy to say, but this has been Jacksonville’s Achilles since its inception.
From 2010 until present, the only first-round picks who have received a second contract from the Jaguars are defensive tackle Tyson Alualu (No. 10 in 2010) and quarterback Blake Bortles (No. 3 in 2014). Allen should be the third. But the litany of bad draft picks in the second and third rounds have been pronounced, too. Of those 29 selections in the second and third rounds from 2010-23, Jacksonville has had some draft hits. Tyson Campbell and Andre Cisco are positioned for second contracts with Jacksonville. Walker Little could get extended, too. Cam Robinson, Dawuane Smoot, Myles Jack, Yannick Ngakoue, Allen Robinson, Brandon Linder and DaVon Hamilton were all picks who would widely be regarded as draft hits.
But the only second- and third-round picks in that span to get a second contract from Jacksonville are Cam Robinson, Jack, Hamilton, Smoot and Linder. And the Jaguars are probably a bit disappointed in their return on Hamilton, who had a back injury early in training camp and played in just eight games this season after signing a $34.5 million extension. He produced all of 12 tackles with no sacks.