A.J. Bouye doesn’t appear to have any hard feelings towards the Jags trading him.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have been one of the top topics of NFL headlines this week. It started off rather rough for them as defensive end Yannick Ngakoue declared that he wanted out of Jacksonville and didn’t want a long-term deal with the team. Afterward, the team tagged him and now fans of the league in general are intrigued about what the future holds for him.
The Jags also found themselves in the headlines due to their decision to trade cornerback A.J. Bouye to the Denver Broncos Tuesday. He followed things up Wednesday evening by releasing a classy message to the Jags and their fans wishing them all success heading forward.
Bouye’s statements at least should put a smile on the faces of fans as he clearly enjoyed their presence. It also should put a smile on the fans’ faces because most of the Jags’ breakups with key players have ended on the wrong foot, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here.
Bouye, 28, was one of the players who most had questions about returning this offseason due to the hefty cap hit he’d come with ($15.5 million). While he was able to have great success upon signing with the team in 2017, he wasn’t able to maintain that level of play, although the Jags did lose several other pieces over his tenure. That said, they came to the conclusion that his price tag was too high for their current cap situation and the rest is history.
Bouye garnered 175 tackles and eight picks during his three years with the Jags. In his first year, he was named a Pro Bowler and was named a second-team All-Pro after racking up 56 tackles and six picks. With the pass-rushing talent the Broncos have, it’s possible Bouye could have a resurgence on the West Coast and his time with the Broncos certainly will be worth watching.
The Broncos have agreed to trade for A.J. Bouye, which might mean Chris Harris has played his last down in Denver.
The Denver Broncos have acquired a Pro Bowl cornerback in a trade, and it might signal that another cornerback is moving on.
On Tuesday, the Denver Broncos agreed to send a fourth-round pick in the upcoming draft to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for cornerback A.J. Bouye.
The deal can’t become official until the new league year opens on March 18th.
As soon as the news of the transaction came out, the immediate thought was that Bouye will be the Broncos’ replacement for Chris Harris, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent.
Harris even seems to think as much.
đź‘€ lol They might have to see me now #StrapHarris
It is a business at the end of the day, and all feelings aside, the players understand that fact.
Harris will be looking for a big contract this offseason after spending his entire nine-year career to this point with the Broncos. During that time, Harris has posted 518 total tackles, 20 interceptions and 90 pass deflections while being selected to four Pro Bowls.
Bouye began his career with the Houston Texans and has spent the past three seasons in Jacksonville after going undrafted out of Central Florida in 2013. He has 14 career interceptions.
The Broncos get a player that can begin to replace Harris’ production and a player that might be a better fit for Vic Fangio’s defensive scheme. Back in 2017 when Bouye was a free agent and Fangio was working as the defensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears, the Bears tried to sign him. He took an offer from Jacksonville that was reportedly for less money.
cxn: In 2017, when Vic Fangio was the DC for the Bears, they tried to acquire A.J. Bouye as a free agent. Bouye later said that the Bears actually offered him the most money.
Fangio has had his eyes on Bouye for some time and now that he has him, he could pair him in a secondary with another defensive back he knows well, Bryce Callahan, next season.
This move gives the Broncos a bit of clarity heading into free agency and the draft. Cornerback was a position that was going to need to be addressed one way or another, but the addition of Bouye allows for the Broncos to move on from one of the best defensive backs in team history and lessen the blow of his departure.
Should Harris leave, both the Texans and Kansas City Chiefs are teams that could be interested in his services. But as KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis notes, the Broncos could still find a way to retain Harris.
Per Broncos source: For clarity, although acquisition of A.J. Bouye makes it less likely for Chris Harris to return, it does not shut the door on him. Team still in need for one more proven CB to go with Bouye/Callahan and young corners (D. Harris, Dawson, Yiadom). #9sports
Bouye’s contract comes with little risk. In each of the next two seasons, Bouye will cost the Broncos $13.5 million, but none of that money is guaranteed. If he comes in and is a flop in 2020, the Broncos can move on from him fairly easily.
Harris’ deal in 2019 paid him just north of $12 million. As an unrestricted free agent, Spotrac notes that Harris’ market value is somewhere around $33 million for three years, or just over $11 million annually.
Harris will likely be looking for a team to offer him more than that. Time will tell if there is a team that does.
But in the meantime, the Broncos have acquired a new piece for their secondary that should have plenty of tread left on his tires.
The Broncos tweeted a fitting GIF after the team agreed to trade for Jaguars cornerback A.J. Bouye.
The Denver Broncos have agreed to trade a fourth-round draft pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for cornerback A.J. Bouye. Although both teams have agreed to the deal, the trade will not become official until the new league year begins on March 18.
Because the trade is not yet official, the Broncos won’t publicly comment on it. Denver’s social media team came up with a creative way to celebrate the trade without officially announcing it.
Denver traded the fourth-round pick it acquired from the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders last year. The Broncos still have their own fourth-round pick are projected to have a total of 11 picks this year.
Bouye will cost Denver about $13.5 million in each of the next two seasons. After acquiring the 28-year-old CB, the Broncos will be down to about $56.5 million in 2020 salary cap space. That total could increase to $65.5 million if the team cuts quarterback Joe Flacco as expected.
After acquiring A.J. Bouye through a trade, the Broncos might be able to land a high compensatory draft pick for Chris Harris in 2021.
Each offseason, the NFL awards compensatory draft picks to teams who lost more than they gained in free agency the previous year.
So if the Broncos lost Chris Harris this offseason and signed a big-name free agent cornerback, they probably wouldn’t receive a comp pick for Harris in 2021 because the new CB’s big contract would cancel out the loss of Harris.
Comp picks only account for free agency, though. Trades aren’t part of the formula.
By acquiring cornerback A.J. Bouye through a trade with the Jaguars, Denver might have preserved a potential comp pick for Harris.
As Nick Korte of OverTheCap.com has pointed out on Twitter, the Broncos could get a third-round pick for Harris in 2021, depending on who the team signs during free agency.
If the arrival of AJ Bouye leads to the departure of Chris Harris, Jr., it will make it easier for the Broncos to get a 2021 compensatory pick for losing Harris.
If that pick is a 3rd or 4th rounder, the net draft capital spent could be minimal, or even a gain.
Denver sent a fourth-round pick to Jacksonville in exchange for Bouye so the team could end up with a younger cornerback and a higher draft pick. That would be some shrewd business from general manager John Elway.
There’s still a chance that the Broncos will bring back Harris on a contract extension, but it’s a slim chance.
Here are some highlights of new Broncos cornerback A.J. Bouye.
The Denver Broncos agreed to trade a fourth-round pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for cornerback A.J. Bouye on Tuesday. The trade won’t become official until March 18 but both teams have signed off on the deal.
Here are some highlights from Bouye’s time in the NFL before landing in Denver:
The Jags are loaded with draft and now have double digit selections after trading CB A.J. Bouye.
The Jacksonville Jaguars once again found themselves as a trending topic in NFL headlines Tuesday. The team traded one of their locker room leaders, A.J. Bouye, to the Denver Broncos. While the move was clearly to help their salary cap, they also were able to get draft compensation from Denver in the form of a 2020 fourth-round pick, giving them 10 selections for April’s draft.
2020 first-round (No. 9, No. 20* From Los Angeles Rams)
When looking within the top-110 selections, the Jags now have six selections, with two picks to come in the first and fourth rounds. Of course, their second first round selection (No. 20) came from trading Jalen Ramsey last year.
Jags general manager Dave Caldwell may not be done just yet as Yannick Ngakoue has come out to say he doesn’t want a long-term deal with the Jags. While Caldwell may want to keep Ngakoue, retaining the young pass-rusher in hopes that he won’t sit out might not be the smartest decision because his job is on the line. That said, his hand could be forced and he may just elect to get what he can for Ngakoue instead of having him sit during the regular season and receive nothing.
Other candidates like veterans Calais Campbell, Andrew Norwell, and Brandon Linder have been floated out their as names the Jags might look into shipping. Ultimately, time will tell what Caldwell’s true intentions are though.
Examining how the Jaguars trading cornerback A.J. Bouye could impact the market for the Lions potentially shopping Darius Slay.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, when the league’s new year begins on March 18th, the Jacksonville Jaguars will trade cornerback A.J. Bouye to the Denver Broncos for a 2020 fourth-round pick.
There are several parallels that can be drawn between Bouye’s situation and that of Detroit Lions’ own top cornerback Darius Slay. They are close in age and production — Slay is slightly older and more productive — and both are nearing the end of a large contract, Slay in his final year while Bouye has two remaining.
Slay has suggested he has high contract demands, which has caused the Lions some trepidation in handing over another big-money deal, after seeing their last big contract extension — to Damon Harrison — blow up in their face.
In turn, it should be no surprise that Lions general manager Bob Quinn privately told a group of local reporters that included our own Jeff Risdon, that the team was exploring trade possibilities for Slay — hoping to potentially get some value out of one of their best assets.
“I think what we’re trying to do is explore a trade,” Quinn said. “That’s not saying we are definitely trading him. We’ve had some conversations with other teams. Nothing to report right now. We’re very much in the information gather phase of this.”
Seeing the return on the Jaguars got for Bouye has almost assuredly left Quinn disappointed.
While there are parallels between Bouye and Slay, the Jaguars and the Lions are in two very different spots.
The Jaguars are very much in sell mode after entering the season with their salary cap in the red. The Bouye trade frees up around $11.5 million and they elected not to pick up stud defensive tackle Marcell Dareus’ option, giving them another $20+ million in space. The Jaguars have suggested they are clearing room to use the franchise tag on EDGE rusher Yannick Ngakoue — someone the Lions could be interested in — but he has said publicly he has asked to be allowed to leave. Bottom line, this was a move the Jaguars almost had to make.
Meanwhile, the Lions are sitting on roughly $50 million in cap space — including Slay’s current deal of $13.4 million — and are in no rush to give him away for less than an ideal return.
Slay has made the last three Pro Bowls and most believe he is still an upper-echelon player. I don’t believe the Lions would even entertain a Day 3 offer for his services, and local reporters have suggested it would likely take a late second round or multiple Day 2 picks in order to get a deal done.
The Bouye deal shows how veterans are devalued when it comes to offseason trades, especially when a team is feeling the pressure. The Lions, while under pressure to win, should be in no rush to make a decision on one of their top players unless the deal is too good to pass up.
The Jags’ decision trade A.J. Bouye is mostly for financial reasons.
While the loss of cornerback A.J. Bouye is a tough one, it goes without saying it was one made mostly for financial reasons. By trading Bouye to the Denver Broncos, the Jags will eat a dead cap hit of four million, however, it frees up over $11.4 million on the salary cap.
Trading CB A.J. Bouye#Broncos acquire cap/cash hits of $13.4M, $13.5M $0 GTD#Jaguars take on $4M of dead cap, clearing $11.4M of space. https://t.co/TrK0klgkjh
Early in the Combine process, the Jags released both defensive tackle Marcell Dareus and linebacker Jake Ryan, freeing up amounts of $20 million and six million, respectively. That took them from being over the cap to being under it by $21 million. Now, with Bouye’s pending trade the Jags are now looking at a projected amount of over $32 million in available cap space, per Over the Cap.
Heading into the offseason, many speculated that general manager Dave Caldwell would part ways with several cap casualties and Bouye was one of the top names on the list. While he was a solid player, he hadn’t been playing on the level we saw early in his tenure with the Jags and taking a $15.4 million cap hit just wasn’t feasible.
The departure of Bouye, Dareus, and Ryan could point to the Jags spending big in free-agency, as more releases are going to follow. Calais Campbell may be the key name to watch as he’d free up another $15 million. However, the moves made over the past few weeks feel like they were made to help keep the veteran as opposed to getting rid of him.
When looking at some other cap casualties, receiver Marqise Lee feels like a near certainty to be released, as does tight end Geoff Swaim. Releasing both would free up $9.3 million more for the Jags, which would put them over the $40 million mark in available cap space.
The Broncos added a good player, but was the price too high?
This NFL offseason, Steven Ruiz will be offering his thoughts and grading every major deal that goes down, including contract extensions, trades and free-agent signings.
Bouye spent three seasons with the Jaguars after signing a five-year, $67 million contract with the team in 2017. He was among the best No. 2 corners in the game over the first two years of that deal but his play seemed to tail off after Jalen Ramsey was dealt to the Rams midway through the 2019 season.
The Broncos were in need of a cornerback with mainstay Chris Harris Jr. slated to hit free agency in a few weeks. Bouye will certainly fill a hole on the roster, but did Denver get him at a good price? And how did the Jaguars make out in this one?
Let’s grade the deal…
Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Let’s start with Jacksonville. Bouye was never in the team’s plans for 2020. He was going to cost the Jaguars $15.5 million in cap space and the taem was already up against the salary cap. Had they failed to trade him, Bouye would have been cut, according to multiple reports. Getting anything for him has to be considered a win for Jacksonville. A fourth-round pick isn’t much, but the Jaguars picked up some free draft capital while saving $11.4 million in cap space in the process.
Even if Bouye bounces back after a down year in 2019 and returns to Pro Bowl form, his career timeline doesn’t really match up with Jacksonville’s. Bouye has only two years left on his contract and he’ll be 30 by the time it expires. The Jags are in rebuild mode and by the time they’re ready to contend, Bouye would be on the way out anyway.
From a football standpoint, this trade makes all the sense in the world. From a PR standpoint, it’s a little harder to defend after the Jags traded Ramsey and fellow first-round pick Dante Fowler in consecutive seasons. With a trade of Yannick Ngakoue likely to happen over the next month or two, Jacksonville will have said goodbye to a lot of defensive talent. This team also lost WR Allen Robinson to free agency two seasons ago and its defensive leader, LB Telvin Smith, stepped away from the team last offseason. What I’m saying is, it’s going to be hard to put together ads for 2020 season tickets. Gardner Minshew’s mustache isn’t that much of a draw.
But even if the fans hate this trade, it was still the right one to make.
Jaguars grade: B+
Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
I’m not so crazy about this one from the Broncos’ perspective. Yes, Bouye might still be a good player at one of the more important positions on the roster, but giving up a fourth-round pick for a player who would have been available anyway is a reckless use of resources.
While a trade does ensure that Denver gets their guy and doesn’t have to outbid other teams for his services, they’re going to be paying him about $27 million over the next few seasons, which will make Bouye one of the ten highest-paid players at his position. He wasn’t getting that from another team, so if the Broncos are comfortable paying that price and offered it to him after he had been cut, Bouye would have been theirs anyway … and they could have saved the fourth-round pick.
Again, Bouye is a solid corner — he might even be a very good one — but Broncos head coach Vic Fangio has made a career out of getting more out of less at the cornerback position. His scheme doesn’t put a lot of physical stress on its cornerbacks, who are rarely left out on an island. If you can play the flats, jump out routes by slot receivers and stay over the top of go routes, you can thrive as a corner in Fangio’s scheme. Bouye can do all of those things, but so can a lot of veteran corners who don’t come with a $13.5 million cap hit.
It’s always a good thing to add talent, especially at a position of need, but in a league with a hard salary cap, resource allocation always matters and this was not the smartest use of draft capital or cap dollars by Elway.
After trading for A.J. Bouye, the Broncos are projected to have 11 picks in the NFL draft.
After agreeing to trade a fourth-round pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for cornerback A.J. Bouye, the Denver Broncos are still projected to have 11 picks in the 2020 NFL draft.
Denver traded a pick to Jacksonville that it acquired from the San Francisco 49ers as part of the Emmanuel Sanders trade. The Broncos still have their own fourth-round pick and the team is expected to receive three compensatory selections this spring.
Here’s a look at the team’s projected draft picks for April:
