New Ezra Cleveland contract details reveal it’s a bargain for Jaguars

What was initially reported as a $9.5 million per year contract for Ezra Cleveland is reportedly much more affordable for the Jaguars.

What was initially reported to be a three-year, $28.5 million contract for offensive lineman Ezra Cleveland is a much cheaper deal, according to reports.

On Thursday evening, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk pulled back the curtain on many aspects of the contract and revealed it’s actually a three-year, $24 million deal with another $3.5 million available through incentives. Over The Cap corroborated that report with a breakdown of the deal that shows it’ll be cheap for the Jaguars.

The important details to know are that:

  1. Cleveland will count just $3,591,176 against the Jaguars’ salary cap in 2024 and $5.2 million in 2025 before the number climbs to $9.95 million in 2026. The deal is also set to carry a $5.2 million dead money hit in 2027, despite automatically voiding after the 2026 season.
  2. Parting with Cleveland in the next two years isn’t much of an option for the Jaguars, who would incur significant dead money charges if they released him. Jacksonville could, however, release Cleveland in the 2026 offseason to save $2.55 million (or $7.75 million with a post-June 1 designation) of cap space.
  3. Cleveland would need to 90 percent of the Jaguars’ offensive snaps and the team would need to make the playoffs three straight years for the offensive lineman to get the maximum of $27.5 million.

With Cleveland counting just $8.8 million against the Jaguars’ salary cap in the next two years combined, he’ll account for less than two percent of the team’s cap through the 2025 season.

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Ezra Cleveland’s contract extension justifies Vikings trade to Jaguars

After Ezra Cleveland signed an extension with the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Minnesota Vikings trade for a 6th round pick was justified

The Minnesota Vikings made the difficult decision to trade left guard Ezra Cleveland to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a sixth-round pick in 2024.

When the move was made, it was an odd one on the surface because Cleveland was the starter at left guard. Dalton Risner stepped in and it was a signal that Cleveland wasn’t a part of the long-term plans for the Vikings. On top of the compensation, the move saved around $1 million in salary cap space.

Even so, trading him for a sixth-round pick, which was from the Carolina Panthers, felt like a slight return. On Thursday morning, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Cleveland signed a three-year, $28.5 million deal. That would have earned the Vikings a projected fifth-round pick in the compensatory formula.

If the Vikings were to get a compensatory pick, it would be in 2025, which right now is worth one round less, a compensatory sixth-round pick. Future draft picks are devalued by a round because they are a future asset. Taking the top pick in the sixth round is a positive gain for the Vikings.

It would have been nice to get a larger return in real-time (a fourth-round pick felt like good value), but the market can be fishy like that. It ended up being a good trade for both sides.

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Jaguars re-sign Ezra Cleveland on 3-year, $28.5 million deal, per report

Ezra Cleveland is staying in Jacksonville on a new, three-year contract.

Update: Expanded details of Cleveland’s contract revealed it’s a three-year, $24 million deal that’ll count $3.6 million against the Jaguars’ salary cap in 2024.

The Jacksonville Jaguars agreed to terms on a three-year, $28.5 million contract with offensive lineman Ezra Cleveland, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Cleveland, 25, was acquired by the Jaguars for a sixth-round pick in a mid-season trade with the Minnesota Vikings. He appeared in nine games with Jacksonville and started in five of the last six weeks, including a start at left tackle when injuries piled up for the Jaguars.

The Vikings drafted Cleveland in the third round of the 2020 NFL draft, but replaced him in the starting lineup with Dalton Risner. While he posted PFF grades above 66 in each of his three seasons in Minnesota, he received a career-worst 59.5 grade in 2023.

The $9.5 million per year contract is a bit of a high price for a player who wasn’t great in 2023, but it’s not a surprising one either. Experienced, starting offensive linemen in their mid-20s aren’t going to come much cheaper than that. The deal likely means the Jaguars envision a starting role for Cleveland moving forward.

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1 pending free agent the Colts could target from each AFC team

Taking a look at one pending free agent for the Colts from each AFC team.

With free agency right around the corner, the Indianapolis Colts have the chance to make some key additions to a roster that already has some promise.

Working with some of the most salary-cap space in the NFL this offseason, general manager Chris Ballard and the front office can continue to add pieces to the defensive side of the ball while improving the supporting cast for quarterback Anthony Richardson.

Re-signing some of their own players like Michael Pittman Jr., Grover Stewart and Kenny Moore II will be key. But they also could look around the conference to bring in some outside talent.

We know Ballard isn’t one to make huge splashes in free agency, but they are still going to be an active team even if it means simply adding depth.

After taking a look at potential NFC targets, here’s a look at one pending free agent from each AFC team that should interest the Colts:

Contract projections for 6 Jaguars in line to receive new deals

How much would it cost the Jaguars to keep Josh Allen, Trevor Lawrence, and a few other players with new contracts? Spoiler: a whole lot.

When Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke spoke to reporters at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, he revealed the team is in talks with three of its impending free agents — Josh Allen, Calvin Ridley, and Ezra Cleveland — to bring them back.

Later, in an interview with NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe, he said the Jaguars have started talks with quarterback Trevor Lawrence too.

So how much would it cost to sign all four of those players to new contracts? Spoiler alert: a lot.

With the salary cap soaring, several Jaguars players are well-positioned to secure pricy contracts if the team hopes to keep them for the foreseeable future. Add defensive backs Tyson Campbell and Andre Cisco to the mix (Baalke mentioned them in an interview as players who will “eventually need contracts”) and the Jaguars could be handing out several big deals to some of their key players.

Here’s a guess at how much it’d cost for the Jaguars to keep those six players if they signed new contracts this offseason:

Doug Pederson ‘really feels comfortable’ with current offensive linemen

Yes, it’s lying season, but it sure doesn’t sound like the Jaguars are planning to make big changes to their offensive line.

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ offensive line was one of the worst in the NFL during the 2023 season. It struggled to protect Trevor Lawrence despite rarely facing blitzes and allowed Travis Etienne to be stuffed for no gain at a league-high rate.

But Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson doesn’t seem too concerned about finding replacements up front.

“Cam [Robinson] missed eight games last year, our left guard was a little bit of an injury revolving door type thing, Luke Fortner at center, Brandon Scherff, and then Anton [Harrison], the rookie, was learning every week and played every game for us,” Pederson said during an NFL Network appearance during the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine.

“We really feel comfortable with the guys we have there, we just have to get back to what they do best. To me, that’s kind of simplifying, put it on their shoulders, but at the same time, as coaches, putting them in position to just go out and execute.”

Earlier in the week, Pederson noted that continuity was a big issue for the line too.

“If you think about it, Cam, Ezra [Cleveland], Luke, Brandon and [Anton Harrison] played one game together,” Pederson said. “We didn’t have consistency; we didn’t have continuity. That affects five guys up front. That’s what we have to get back to, we have to get back to a little bit more consistency there.”

Should Pederson be taking at face value? Maybe not. There’s little incentive for the coach to throw his linemen under the bus in late February when there’s still plenty of offseason to sort out changes on the roster.

Yet, Jaguars brass has also had no issue with underlining cornerback as a spot on the roster that needs work.

Trent Baalke told reporters he expects Cam Robinson to stay on the roster, he’s in negotiations to bring Ezra Cleveland back, and the Jaguars appear to be in no rush to part with Scherff either.

It seems Fortner is the Jaguars offensive lineman most in danger of being replaced, but wholesale changes up and down the line are looking increasingly unlikely.

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Ranking 2024’s top 12 free-agent interior offensive linemen

The Panthers’ interior offensive line was decimated by injuries at both guard positions. They’ll keep that in mind this spring.

If any team knows about the importance of interior offensive line depth, it’s the 2023 Carolina Panthers—who fielded six different starters at left guard and seven different starters at right guard. So while Brady Christensen and Austin Corbett will both likely be back, there’s still some work to be done.

Here are the best interior hog mollies the Panthers could take a look at in free agency:

22 Jaguars players set to become free agents in March, ranked

Which impending free agents should the Jaguars focus on bringing back?

The Jacksonville Jaguars spent much of the 2023 offseason retaining their own free agents.

While Jawaan Taylor, Arden Key, Marvin Jones Jr, and Chris Manhertz were among those who left the team, the Jaguars made sure to keep several players, including Andrew Wingard, Dawuane Smoot, Adam Gotsis, and Tre Herndon.

After a disappointing 2023 season, there aren’t as many tough calls to make regarding the more than 20 players set to become free agents in 2024.

Free agency will begin on March 13, but the first decision for the Jaguars will come about a week before that when the franchise tag deadline hits on March 5.

With about two months to sort out their plans, here are the 22 players the Jaguars currently have set to leave the team as free agents:

Dalton Risner continues to rise to the occasion

Dalton Risner continues to shine as a Minnesota Viking

Minnesota Vikings left guard Dalton Risner has been impressive in his first year with the team. According to Pro Football Focus, Risner has not allowed a sack on 412 pass-blocking snaps for the Vikings this season.

Risner joined the team via free agency after Minnesota lacked depth along the offensive line with linemen Chris Reed and Oli Udoh out due to injury. His relationship with offensive line coach Chris Kuper was a likely significant reason for the signing. Brought in as a backup behind Ezra Cleveland, Risner was to be a reinforcement and allow Blake Brandel to move back to the reserve tackle position.

After Cleveland suffered a foot injury two weeks before the trade deadline, Risner stepped in and never had to give the job back. Cleveland was shipped off to Jacksonville, and Risner stepped in and became more than just a body at the guard position. He became an asset on an improved offensive line.

While his status as a Viking in 2024 is up in the air, there is no doubt that Risner made himself some money in the upcoming off-season.

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5 Jaguars players to watch vs the Buccaneers in Week 16

Can the Jaguars get their offense back on track in Tampa Bay?

The Jacksonville Jaguars are finally, mercifully done playing AFC North teams. After playing the Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, and Baltimore Ravens three weeks in a row, the Jaguars fell from 8-3 to 8-6.

This makes Jacksonville’s matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers much more important. The Jaguars have a narrow lead — only due to tiebreakers — over the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans, who also sit at 8-6.

Tampa Bay is also playing for its division, though. The Buccaneers are 7-7, as are the New Orleans Saints, so they will need to keep to their winning ways if they want to earn a playoff spot.

While the Buccaneers have talent on both sides of the football, Jacksonville has the talent to get the job done if it can put things back together.

Here are five Jaguars players to watch when they travel to Tampa Bay to play the Bucs in Week 16: