The Jacksonville Jaguars entered last offseason with essentially a blank check to improve the roster. But despite leading the league in available cap space, general manager Trent Baalke chose to pinch pennies, making a handful of value signings while avoiding big (and pricey) splashes.
The efficacy of that decision is highly questionable in hindsight, but regardless, Jacksonville didn’t use a large portion of its space. As a result, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that this team leads the league in cap rollover heading into the 2022 offseason by a wide margin with $25.8 million, according to ESPN NFL reporter Field Yates.
NFL teams recently declared unused 2021 cap space rollover amounts (below).
After the playoffs, the NFL will audit incentives, bonuses, etc by team. That figure will be added/subtracted to the number below.
The sum + the 2022 Salary Cap = each team's 2022 adjusted cap number. pic.twitter.com/BMThnJyLpa
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) January 17, 2022
It’s a good thing for the Jags that they have a lot of capital to work with, as they have some tough decisions to make, namely when it comes to offensive tackle Cam Robinson and receiver DJ Chark Jr.
Robinson played on the franchise tag this season, and while tagging him again is a possibility, it would be less than ideal. He was solid this season, but he will almost certainly want a deal that puts him in the top class of the league’s blindside blockers. The team drafted Walker Little to potentially replace him, and the rookie out of Stanford impressed in the three starts he made this season.
Chark, meanwhile, missed almost all of his contract season with a broken ankle, making the decision even tougher. However, given the way the receiving corps performed in his absence, the Jags really can’t afford to let him go. Re-signing him should be a top priority unless the team is able to make a move for a free agent like Chris Godwin (who won’t be available right away with an ACL tear).
The roster still has a lot of needs after a disappointing season, but at least Jacksonville, who is projected to be in the top three of the league in terms of available cap space, has the money to make some bigger moves if it chooses to.