When looking around the NFL, having an elite trio on offense can be expensive, especially for the organizations that have quality veterans at the quarterback, running back, and receiver positions. A prime example of this are the Dallas Cowboys, who have Dak Prescott signed to a franchise tender worth $31.4 million, Ezekiel Elliot due for a $10.9 million cap hit, and Amari Cooper dealing with a higher one at $12 million. When adding those figures together, the three account for over $50 million which is just barely under a fourth of the team’s total salary cap (24.95%).
Talk about a nice chunk of change.
Luckily for the Jacksonville Jaguars front office, this isn’t an issue they will have to juggle in 2020. In fact, they will have the third-lowest cap hit total when it comes to all three positions as they are set to pay out a total of nearly $10.5 million to Gardner Minshew, Leonard Fournette, and D.J. Chark Jr.
The only teams with lower totals are the Denver Broncos ($10.4 million) and Washington Redskins ($7.4 million), respectively.
Each player’s cap hits are as follows this year:
Minshew: $722,721
Chark: $1,212,881
Fournette: $8,638,907All three are in their rookie deals still. #Jaguars https://t.co/HXDiFZnCVu
— Jay (@SportsGrind_Don) June 24, 2020
Part of the reason for this is because of how Tom Coughlin and Dave Caldwell built the Jags dating back to 2017. The team spent a lot of cash on hefty free-agent contracts on the defensive side, which made them depend on the draft for their key offensive talent. As a result, the team drafted both Fournette and Chark early in the 2017-18 drafts to bolster their offense.
Minshew, on the other hand, is a unique case where the Jags ended up having to play a sixth-round selection who actually exceeded expectations. As the No. 178th overall pick, the Jags in all probability thought they were getting a developmental quarterback but simply got a rare surprise in 2019. As a result, if Minshew pans out the team will have him under one of the most inexpensive contracts a player can receive for at least two more years.
The fact that the Jags have all three aforementioned players still locked up on their rookie deals is reflective in the extremely healthy cap situation they will be in next season with over $96 million in cap space set to be available. Add in the fact that they also have nine draft picks in 2021 and it appears the Jags are in shape to make drastic improvements next year.