JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jaguars continued to make moves before the start of free agency on Wednesday, touching up its beleaguered offensive line, and bolstering the passing and return games.
Jacksonville re-signed Blake Hance, restructured guard Brandon Scherff’s contract and signed center Mitch Morse, a recent cut of the Bills. The Jaguars had one of the worst offensive lines in football last season, a combination of injuries, suspension and regression. The result was quarterback Trevor Lawrence enduring the most sacks of his career (35) and suffering a concussion in addition to knee, ankle and shoulder injuries. The moves come before the official start of free agency on Wednesday at 4 p.m. The Jaguars re-signed left guard Ezra Cleveland last week.
According to ESPN, the Jaguars are also signing wide receiver Gabe Davis to a three-year, $39 million contract that includes $11 million at signing. The deep-threat receiver from UCF is known for his run blocking and had some big performances for the Bills over four seasons but was also inconsistent.
Sources told NFL.com reporter Ian Rapoport that the Jaguars also planned to sign former Packers safety Darnell Savage, a former first-round pick, to a three-year deal, and add Ravens return man Devin Duvernay. Savage had strong seasons his first two years in the league in 2019 and ‘20 before falling out of favor in Green Bay. He gives Jacksonville a starter next to Andre Cisco in the secondary. Later Monday, Bleacher Report said that the Jaguars had also agreed to a deal with Baltimore cornerback Ronald Darby.
Darby, 30, spent one season with the Ravens and has been a bit of a drifter in the NFL. He spent two season with the Bills after entering the league as a second-round pick in 2015. Darby has also been with the Eagles (2017-19), Washington (2020), Denver (2021-22) and Baltimore. He has eight career interceptions and has 95 career starts.
The addition of Duvernay likely means Jamal Agnew’s time in Jacksonville is over. Duvernay was almost strictly a return man in Baltimore last year. He had just four catches for 18 yards. But he’s a two-time Pro Bowl selection as a return man, and garnered All-Pro honors in 2022. Duvernay has averaged 24.8 yards per kick return in his career and has two touchdowns.
The Jaguars elected to run it back with most of the same pieces and retaining offensive line coach Phil Rauscher suggests that they have faith that bad luck was responsible for the struggles.
Hance’s extension was announced Monday morning by the team. He’s not a starter, but a depth piece for the Jaguars. The addition of Morse, a cap casualty by Buffalo, was reported by multiple media outlets.
He was a Pro Bowl selection in 2022 but became expendable as Buffalo worked to get under the salary cap.
Upgrading the center position was a major priority in the offseason. Third-year player Luke Fortner was the worst player on the offensive line and ranked 32nd of 32 centers in run blocking, according to Pro Football Focus metrics. Morse should be an upgrade over Fortner, and, at the very minimum, provides veteran competition for Fortner. According to ESPN, Morse’s deal is worth $10.5 million over two years.
Morse was a second-round pick of the Chiefs in 2015, a season where he played for Doug Pederson in Kansas City. Pederson was the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator then. He’s started 126 games in nine seasons between Kansas City and Buffalo.
Scherff’s contract restructure keeps the steady right guard in Jacksonville. According to ESPN, the restructure guarantees his $15 million in salary and spreads his cap hit ($23.96 million) across the next four seasons.