Category: Trade news

Jaguars ranked as the top trade destination for Saints WR Michael Thomas

It seems Thomas is unhappy in New Orleans, and Jacksonville has plenty of cap space if it wanted to make a play for him.

Jacksonville’s receiver group is far from a weakness on the team. D.J. Chark is coming off a bit of a slump in 2020, but with a new quarterback in Trevor Lawrence, he’s expected to bounce back to his 1,000-yard ways. He’s joined in the receiver room by Laviska Shenault Jr., who showed great promise as a rookie, and Marvin Jones Jr., a free-agent acquisition from Detroit who nearly had 1,000 yards himself last year.

Behind those players, the team has a good deal of depth between Collin Johnson, Phillip Dorsett and the newly acquired Laquon Treadwell, who has impressed in training camp and is battling for a roster spot.

Still, the Jaguars could potentially do more if they wanted to. They had the most cap space in the league this offseason, and even after making a lot of value pickups in free agency, the team still leads the league in cap space. And the potential to add a superstar player is still on the table.

New Orleans Saints receiver Michael Thomas has solidified himself as one of the NFL’s top pass-catchers. He had 1,725 yards in 2019, but coming off an injury-riddled 2020 season and with a new starting quarterback in either Jameis Winston or Taysom Hill, Thomas has indicated he could be looking for a change of scenery.

He reportedly ignored calls from Saints officials for months after the season ended, and it has been a year since it was reported that New Orleans could be willing to move him.

It seems Thomas is unhappy, and he could find greener pastures in Jacksonville. According to CBS Sports, the Jaguars are the top trade option for Thomas.

Jacksonville spent a ton on mostly middling free agents this spring, but the team still has more than enough cap space (an NFL-best $30M) to be bold. They’re out of the NFC, which would put the Saints more at ease. They need any true weapons for Trevor Lawrence they can get, even with D.J. Chark established as a starting WR. And best of all, their new coach just happens to be Urban Meyer, who oversaw Thomas’ emerging stardom at Ohio State and drew an eyebrow-raising endorsement from Thomas this year.

Thomas’ five-year, $96.3 million contract may scare some teams off, but it includes no guaranteed money after 2021. The Jaguars could certainly afford to bring him on if they wanted to.

It’s fair to say the team feels confident with its current receiver group, and tying up a lot of cap space in a position that isn’t a pressing need may not make a lot of sense for the Jags, especially with bigger holes at tight end and trade options like Zach Ertz potentially available at the position.

However, no pass-catcher currently on the roster has as high a ceiling as Thomas, and giving Lawrence an elite top target (whenever Thomas returns from his ankle injury) would be quite an enticing proposition.

But considering there’s no indication that the Saints are currently shopping Thomas, it seems like a longshot that any deal happens, at least before the beginning of the season.

Bleacher Report thinks Jacksonville could be a trade destination for N’Keal Harry

Harry has just 45 catches in two years with New England, but a change of scenery could work to his benefit.

Though no one can doubt the legendary Bill Belichick’s coaching prowess, drafting players has never been his biggest strength as the coach of the New England Patriots. And among the picks of his who haven’t panned out, few in recent memory have been as widely criticized as receiver N’Keal Harry with the final pick in the first round two years ago.

The former Arizona State player has appeared in just 21 games over the last two seasons and has only 45 catches for 414 yards and four touchdowns. The fact that he was taken with D.K. Metcalf, A.J. Brown, and Mecole Hardman all available makes that lack of production even more painful for the Patriots.

After an offseason in which the team signed multiple pass-catchers in receiver Nelson Agholor and tight ends Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith,  Harry formally requested a trade from New England.

With the 23-year-old apparently heading elsewhere, Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon listed the Jaguars as one potential landing spot for Harry, who has two years remaining on his rookie deal plus a team option on a fifth year.

This is another “why not?” scenario. Harry might not be ready to challenge DJ Chark Jr. or Laviska Shenault Jr. in Jacksonville, but it’s still unclear how those guys will adapt to a new quarterback and a new system, and newcomer Marvin Jones Jr. has a pretty clear ceiling at this point. Plus, for what it’s worth, Chark is slated to hit free agency next offseason.

Harry would have a shot at the No. 4 receiver job for a team that is building up slowly and could give him some time and space to develop with Trevor Lawrence under Urban Meyer. However, he may be required to change his name to “N’Keal Harry Jr.” in order to fit in.

Considering the relative cost-effectiveness of his contract and the fact that his trade value would likely be minimal, targeting a player like Harry to bolster receiver depth could make some sense for Jacksonville. However, it would add yet another body to a group that is getting crowded after adding Marvin Jones, Phillip Dorsett, and Jamal Agnew this offseason.

The Jags also don’t really need him, as Chark, Shenault, and Jones should prove to be a more than capable starting group with guys like Dorsett and second-year player Collin Johnson as depth. Harry would, however, give the team a larger target than Chark. Both players are 6-foot-4-inches, but Harry has 27 pounds on Chark.

Still, given his meager production through two years, there doesn’t seem to be much for Jacksonville to gain in pursuing Harry unless coach Urban Meyer really believes in his talent and wouldn’t mind parting with a late-round pick to give him a shot.

What would it take for the Jags to deal Gardner Minshew?

The Jaguars would reportedly take a fifth or sixth-round pick for the two-year starter after drafting his apparent replacement.

For all of the struggles the Jacksonville Jaguars have had throughout the last two seasons, it’s hard to place much of the blame on Gardner Minshew II. The third-year quarterback and former sixth-round made the best of a bad situation, tossing 37 touchdowns to 11 interceptions in 2019 and 2020.

But his time as Jacksonville’s starter appears to be coming to an end, as a 1-15 season resulted in the selection of Trevor Lawrence with the first overall pick, seemingly ending Minshew’s chances of securing the job long-term.

This, paired with the fact that Jacksonville paid former San Francisco passer C.J. Beathard like a No. 2 quarterback this offseason, would seem to indicate that Minshew doesn’t factor into the team’s plans. But his play has still been solid, especially given the circumstances, and that fact makes him a prime option for the Jags to trade.

It’s been expected that the Jaguars would deal him, with many thinking they would try to acquire more draft picks in 2021. But no deal came to fruition before the draft, though according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the 49ers showed some interest before trading for the third overall pick, which they used to draft North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance.

However, Minshew has reportedly looked better than Beathard in organized team activities so far (though the pads aren’t on yet), and Fowler reported that after missing time last week, he wants to compete for the starting job with Lawrence. If coach Urban Meyer determines that Minshew is the better backup option than Beathard, that could complicate the plans at the position a bit.

Still, Minshew seems to want to be more than a backup, and according to sources of Fowler, Jacksonville could be willing to take a fifth or a sixth-round pick to part ways with the player who took the NFL by storm in 2019.

That sounds about right, though if Minshew is out-performing Beathard, the Jags could potentially get more in return for his services. If offered a fourth-round pick, it’s hard to imagine Jacksonville wouldn’t move on from Minshew.

While Lawrence could be 100% healthy from labrum surgery soon, having Minshew around in the meantime seems like a smart plan until Lawrence is fully recovered. Until that happens, there appears to be a slim chance for Minshew to start again, which is why there is some value in keeping him around.

Jags land CB Jameson Houston, 2023 sixth-round pick after trade with Eagles

While the draft and the most important part of free agency may be over, that doesn’t mean a team can’t fill out their roster to their liking. That seems to be exactly the case for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who made a trade Tuesday. Per ESPN’s Adam …

While the draft and the most important part of free agency may be over, that doesn’t mean a team can’t fill out their roster to their liking. That seems to be exactly the case for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who made a trade Tuesday.

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Jags have acquired cornerback Jameson Houston and a 2023 sixth-round pick from the Philadelphia Eagles. As for what they gave up, it all came at the price of sending Philly second-year cornerback Josiah Scott.

The Jags were set to head into the 2021 season pretty deep and experienced at the cornerback position as it was. And while Houston’s addition swaps one second-year player for another, it does give the Jags a player with more size at the position (5-foot-11, 200 pounds).

Houston, who played in three games last year, has yet to register any stats in the NFL. In addition to playing with the Eagles, he also spent time with the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers.

As for Scott, he was selected by the Jags in the fourth round last season out of Michigan State. During his rookie season, he played in six games and registered 11 tackles.

Jaguars send Saints 2021 seventh-round pick for Malcom Brown

The former Saints defensive tackle is coming to Jacksonville for a seventh-round pick, according to a report.

The terms of Jacksonville’s trade involving Saints defensive tackle Malcom Brown have now been released. According to Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football, the Jaguars are sending a seventh-round pick for the 27-year-old.

The news of the compensation for Brown’s trade was confirmed by Brett Martel and Mark Long of the Associated Press on Wednesday. However, it’s unclear which of the Jaguars’ two seventh-round picks was part of the trade. The team picks at No. 229 and No. 250.

This trade makes sense for both sides. Jacksonville needed depth on the interior defensive line and had lots of draft capital, while the Saints were likely to release Brown anyway and now at least recoup some value for him.

Brown spent the last two seasons in New Orleans after spending the first four of his career with the New England Patriots, who drafted him 32nd in 2015. His most productive seasons came with them, and his play has slowly declined since then. With the Saints in 2020, he made 26 tackles (the least of his career) with one sack in 13 appearances.

Brown’s addition gives the Jags a nose tackle to rotate with rookie DaVon Hamilton. It also gives Hamilton a proven veteran who is a solid run stuffer to learn from.

Report: Jags receiving calls from teams for Gardner Minshew

The movement of quarterbacks in the NFL could be crazy this season and Gardner Minshew II could be a part of the chaos.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have already gotten involved in the trade market by acquiring defensive lineman Malcom Brown from the New Orleans Saints. With plenty of time left before the draft, the Jags could also get in on shipping off some players themselves, which would help them add more selections. 

With quarterbacks being shipped all over the league, one of the most popular names in trade discussions has been third-year quarterback Gardner Minshew, who has started in 23 games since being drafted by the Jags in 2019. According to Ian Rapoport, his significant time on the field has led to teams reaching out to the Jags about a trade, which now gives Jags fans another interesting situation to monitor.

Minshew, 24, was drafted by the Jags in the sixth-round two seasons ago out of Washington State. He ended up seeing the field behind center in his first-ever regular season game after Nick Foles broke his clavicle against the Kansas City Chiefs Week 1 of the 2019 season.

That led to Minshew starting all the way up to Week 9, but he was benched when Foles returned from injured reserve. Unfortunately for the veteran, he wouldn’t hold on to the job long and Minshew reclaimed his QB1 spot Week 14 against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Minshew put together a respectable rookie season when 2019 was over, winning the Pepsi Rookie of the Week Award seven times while going 285-of-470 (60.6%) for 3,271 yards, 21 touchdowns, and six picks. Unfortunately, 2020 didn’t provide similar success for Minshew (or the Jags as a whole) as he dealt with a hand injury that sidelined him and regressed from his rookie campaign in general. In a season where the Jags would end up going 1-15, Minshew was 216-of-327 (66.1%) for 2,259 yards, 16 touchdowns, and five picks.

It’s unclear whether or not Minshew is being looked at for a starting role or as a backup, but clearly, teams see potential in him. With Trevor Lawrence, likely coming to Jacksonville Minshew’s chances to start for the Jags are slim as we approach the regular season, though it certainly doesn’t hurt to have him as a backup. Time will tell if an organization gives the Jags a deal they can’t pass up for the young quarterback, but it certainly wouldn’t be shocking to see him on another team when looking at the quarterback transactions league-wide.

Jaguars continue to bolster DL by trading for DT Malcom Brown

Urban Meyer stressed the importance of defensive line play last week and the Jacksonville Jaguars’ moves so far in free agency are proof they want to make significant strides in the defensive trenches. In the first two days of the tampering period, …

Urban Meyer stressed the importance of defensive line play last week and the Jacksonville Jaguars’ moves so far in free agency are proof they want to make significant strides in the defensive trenches. In the first two days of the tampering period, they re-signed Dawuane Smoot and added Tyson Alualu, Jihad Ward, and Roy Roberts-Harris as newcomers. However, even with four new veterans, the team didn’t want to stop there.

Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Jags will also be trading an undisclosed pick for New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Malcom Brown. With the team planning to release the veteran, the Jags decided to prance on the opportunity to acquire him and reunite him with his former college coach Charlie Strong.

Brown, 27, was a former first round pick for the New England Patriots out of Texas. After spending four seasons with them, he signed with the Saints in 2019 where he started in 29 games.

The massive 6-foot-2, 320-pounder will enter his Jags tenure with 80 career starts, 247 total tackles, and 12.5 sacks. During the 2020 season, he was also able to register a 72.9 overall grade on Pro Football Focus. He flourished in particular against the run with a 77.1 rush defense grade.

With the Jags finishing 30th against the rush last season, this move makes perfect sense. Just like the other aforementioned linemen, he’ll bring plenty of experience into the mix with all of the starts he’s registered and two Super Bowl titles he’s won. That could especially be huge for second-year players DaVon Hamilton and Doug Costin, who were a nice rookie duo in 2020, but needed a veteran around in the rotation.

Report: Jaguars could trade OG Andrew Norwell this offseason

Per Albert Breer of SI, the Jags are weighing if they have options to trade guard Andrew Norwell, who was asked to take a pay cut recently.

With teams needing to make cap space as the new league year awaits, it’s that time of the year where NFL front offices explore trading who they don’t see as long-term contributors. According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, one player who could be in that boat for the Jaguars is guard Andrew Norwell, who the team asked to take a pay cut recently.

Jaguars G Andrew Norwell: Norwell is making $12 million this year (with a $15 million cap number) and $13 million next year (with a $16 million cap number), and the Jaguars went to him asking for a reduction on that. The result of that? They may wind up dealing him.

While the Jags lead the league in salary cap with over $84.6 million available, per Over the Cap, they aren’t hurting to free up space. However, as fans have seen in the past, that sometimes doesn’t stop general managers from trying to save where they can. Additionally, with several changes going on within the building, the Jags could be looking for a more athletic player at guard.

The decision to weigh the option of trading Norwell comes somewhat at an odd time, as he’s coming off arguably his best season since becoming a Jaguar. While he dealt with a forearm injury in 2020, Norwell had a 71.1 grade via Pro Football Focus before it. That ranked him second on the line only under center Brandon Linder. His pass blocking-grade of 85.6, in particular, looked to be the reason behind that overall figure.

Norwell’s situation also has odd timing because the team is projected to draft Trevor Lawrence first overall and also could let free agent left tackle Cam Robinson hit the open market. Simply put, with such an elite talent coming in at the quarterback position, too many changes up front is puzzling. Then again, maybe the Jags feel that Norwell has been underwhelming when looking at his total body of work since signing his five-year $66.5 million deal in 2018.

Jags coach Urban Meyer coached Norwell at Ohio State. The fact that conversations are occurring to trade the veteran could speak volumes about how the Jags feel about upgrading the position. It could also speak volumes about how offensive line coach George Warhop feels about the guard position, as he was one of the coaches retained from Doug Marrone’s staff.

Despite the discussions that have taken place, it’s worth noting that it’s not guaranteed that Norwell has played his last down with the team. However, this news does make things interesting as the new league year closes in.

Former Jag-turned-Brown Ronnie Harrison says he was ‘heartbroken’ when he was traded

When the Jacksonville Jaguars take the field Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, they will be facing an old teammate in starting safety Ronnie Harrison. As many can recall, the Jags traded him in early September in exchange for a 2021 fifth-round …

When the Jacksonville Jaguars take the field Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, they will be facing an old teammate in starting safety Ronnie Harrison. As many can recall, the Jags traded him in early September in exchange for a 2021 fifth-round pick.

Needless to say, the upcoming battle between the Jags and Harrison is one the former third-round pick is excited to watch unfold. This week, he told the media that being traded was a heartbreaking moment for him, however, the deal is one that worked out well as he’s playing great football at the moment.

While there are likely several departures general manager Dave Caldwell wishes he could take back, the play at safety has been respectable since Harrison was traded. Rookie Daniel Thomas, who is now on injured reserve, had been making plays for the team before his injury.

Thomas has frequently been around the ball and caught the eyes of the staff enough to start in a pair of games and accumulate 18 tackles, two pass breakups, and a pick. He also blocked a punt against the Los Angeles Chargers, proving he can help the Jags through many phases.

As for Harrison, he found his way to Cleveland after the team had a search to replace rookie Grant Delpit, who suffered a torn Achilles this summer. That presented the perfect opportunity for the Jags to trade him away as it just wasn’t clicking in Duval for him. Now, he’s found his footing in Cleveland and has a 74.6 Pro Football Focus grade, which is good for 15th at the position. He’s also been healthier than he was during his time in Jacksonville.

When stepping back and evaluating Harrison’s trade, it’s a rare case where both sides came out fine. He’s now playing the best football of his professional career with a team that is playoff bound while the Jags got to give one of their rookies a chance that he’s flourished with so far.

Dave Caldwell calls rumors about a Yannick Ngakoue trade ‘erroneous’

Dave Caldwell shut down any rumors of a Yannick Ngakoue trade happening anytime soon after sitting down with Sirius XM Radio.

As of late the rumor mill has been hot when it comes to Yannick Ngakoue, however, according to Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell, there are no plans to trade him. In an interview with Alex Marvez and Charles Davis of Sirius XM Radio, Caldwell called the rumors “erroneous” and added that the news caught him off guard.

Caldwell’s statements come after an offseason where Ngakoue declared he didn’t want a long-term deal with the Jags. Afterward, they franchised tagged him which further frustrated Ngakoue and caused him to demand a trade via Twitter in an exchange with Tony Khan. Despite all of the friction, however, the Jags didn’t trade the young defensive end during the draft or before the tag extension deadline due to no team meeting their request.

Caldwell added that both parties were in a “holding pattern” with each other, but remained in contact as Ngakoue has new representation. While that still leaves a lot of questions, it marks a little progress because the team was previously saying they hadn’t heard from Ngakoue.

On Wednesday, NFL insider Tom Pelissero stated that he believes the Jags want a “second-rounder and some change” based off the teams he’s spoken with who’ve contacted the Jags. He added that Ngakoue and the Jags’ relationship has “been better” since his change in representation, but said that Ngakoue still preferred to be traded.