The Jacksonville Jaguars have a busy week ahead of them. The tampering period begins at noon ET, which means the team can negotiate deals with agents and players before the new league year begins.
They started Monday off by freeing up some more cap space before the legal tampering period by restructuring the contract of veteran guard Andrew Norwell. His contract, which had two years remaining on it, was turned into a one-year deal worth up to $12 million with $9 million being guaranteed. If those figures sound familiar, it’s because the Jags did something similar last season by renegotiating his deal, making $9 million (base salary) guaranteed and $2.5 in incentives available.
Jaguars and guard Andrew Norwell have agreed to restructure his contract into a one-year deal worth up to $12 million, including $9 million fully guaranteed, per source.
Norwell’s agent, @DrewJRosenhaus, confirmed the restructure this morning to ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 15, 2021
With the Jags and Norwell shaving off a year from his contract, he’ll become a free agent after 2021. Now, the initial deal he signed, a five-year term worth $66.5 million, is a four-year deal. Additionally, he’s managed to get security on the back end of his deal as there were initially no guarantees left on his deal in terms of money the past two seasons.
Norwell was set to account for $15 million against the Jags’ cap this upcoming season. Now, the max he can account for is up to $12 million, which saves the Jags $3 million.
Jags coach Urban Meyer has hinted at there not being drastic changes made to the offensive line in 2021 and the decision to renegotiate with Norwell further proves it. He also praised Norwell earlier this month, who he coached at Ohio State, stating that he was a favorite player of his.
“He’s one of my favorite players I’ve ever coached. He’s a guy that was the underdog when we got there at Ohio State,” Meyer said. “The offensive line at Ohio State was one of the worst in the Big 10, it became the best in the Big 10. He was a big part of it. I was not surprised to see him get a high free agency contract because he’s a grinder, he’s a worker, he’s a team guy, he’s a locker room guy. I see him being part of the Jaguars and I want him to be part of the Jaguars. For me personally, I love the guy because I know him better than most.”
Norwell was the Jags’ second-best offensive lineman last season alongside Brandon Linder. While he dealt with a forearm injury in 2020, Norwell had a 71.1 grade via Pro Football Focus before it and was performing better than Jags fans had seen in the past.