The Jacksonville Jaguars will have several new faces on their starting defense and Rodney Gunter will probably be one of them. The team has been on record for emphasizing their willingness to improve against the run, which explains their pursuit of Gunter who specializes in the category.
Gunter, of course, is happy about his new start after receiving a three-year deal that will not just give him a nice pay bump, but also bring him back to his home state of Florida. According to him, the Jags’ strong pursuit of him was what led to his signing as their interest in the veteran stood out more than all of his other suitors.
“Jacksonville’s the best fit for me, because you guys showed me more love than any other team,” the veteran said to Jaguars.com Monday.
The veteran will come into the 2020 season with a career total of 126 total tackles (26 tackles for loss), and 11 sacks after spending five seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. While there, he was around a young nucleus of talent which is why he won’t be foreign to the Jags’ current rebuild. However, on Monday, he emphasized his willingness to still make the team compete and play hard throughout 2020, which is all the coaches can ask for.
“I’m very excited to get to work,” Gunter said. “I know we’re a young team and we’re probably going into a rebuilding year. But we’re still going to go out there and compete and play hard.”
Last week, coach Doug Marrone made it clear that Gunter would play both on the outside of the defensive line and in the interior of it just as Calais Campbell did for his three seasons with the team. Coincidentally, that’s who Gunter learned from in the early stages of his career, which is exactly why he may come off as the same type of leader.
“I was fortunate to spend my first two years with Calais Campbell,” Gunter said. “He’s a great guy. I have tons of respect for him: good guy on the field, off the field. Coming in as a rookie, he taught me well. He was a mentor to me, a big brother to me – everything. I have so much respect for the guy.”
Ultimately, time will tell if Gunter pans out for the Jags but there is no doubt he has a great opportunity ahead of him. His contract (which is more of a two-year deal than a three-year one) puts him on the same timeline of when the Jags’ rebuild should be complete and if the Jags can get solid play and good leadership from him it should help the process tremendously.