In a matter of weeks, the Jacksonville Jaguars will be removing themselves from various cap casualties to help their salary cap situation. One player who Jaguars senior writer John Oehser believes may be a part of those cuts is cornerback A.J. Bouye, who is one of the teams better players when he’s on his game.
It wasn’t all that long ago in 2016 when the Jags signed the young cornerback to a five-year $67.5 million contract with $26 million in guarantees. He’s now played through three years of that deal, and for the most part, he proved to be worth the money throughout. Bouye was able to garner second-team All-Pro honors and Pro Bowl honors in 2017 and has been a leader in the locker room. However, the Jags have come upon a time where they need to get cheaper on the defensive side and Bouye’s play in 2019 seems to indicate the Jags need to go in a different direction as his cap hit will be a whopping $15.4 million.
By releasing him, the team would save $11.4 million, which the Jags could do a lot with, including pay a majority of their 2020 rookie class (projected to cost them $12 million) or pay out the first year of Yannick Ngakoue’s contract extension. They also could end up finding a cheaper option than Bouye at cornerback on the open market.
If the Jags decide to part ways, it appears there could be many suitors out there as Bouye has a lot left in the tank at 28 years of age. He could especially flourish with a team that has a solid pass rush in place and a better front seven than the Jags in general.
Two suitors could even be within the division in the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans, both of whom have ties to Bouye.
In the case of the Texans, that’s where Bouye previously came from. They initially picked him up as an undrafted player in 2013, but when it came time to pay up, they weren’t willing to make the young cornerback one of the highest-paid at his position.
Presently, the Texans still need help within their secondary and are an enticing team in the sense that they are a few players from being a Super Bowl-caliber team. Now that he’s received his huge payday, maybe the Texans’ decision to let him go could be water under the bridge and a reunion could happen in the spring.
As for the Titans, Bouye has ties to coach Mike Vrabel, who was a part of the Texans’ staff from 2014—17. After initially starting his time off with the team as their linebackers coach, he eventually became the Texans’ defensive coordinator, where he worked with Bouye more directly. Adding him would give the Titans an upgrade over Malcolm Butler in the eyes of some, however, the team is in a situation where they have to address other priorities first.
Other teams that could be on the market for a cornerback include the San Francisco 49ers, Baltimore Ravens, and Seattle Seahawks to name a few. So if the Jags release him, look for Bouye to find work relatively fast.