Tag: Foye Oluokun

Jaguars sign LB Foye Oluokun to 3-year extension

The Jaguars locked down their defensive team captain Foye Oluokun with a new deal that runs through the 2027 season.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are signing linebacker Foye Oluokun to a three-year contract extension, according to his agent AJ Vaynerchuk.

Oluokun, 28, was due to play on the last season of the three-year contract he signed with the Jaguars in free agency during the 2022 offseason. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the new deal is a four-year contract worth $45 million with $22.5 million guaranteed.

While the exact framework of the deal hasn’t yet been revealed, the contract will likely save the Jaguars cap space for the 2024 season. Oluokun was due to count $21,750,668 against the cap next year and $7,752,000 in 2025 after a restructure last year tacked a few void years on to his deal.

Oluokun led the NFL with 184 tackles during the 2022 season and finished fourth in 2023 with 173 tackles. Oluokun also recorded 2.5 sacks, three fumble recoveries, and his first career pick-six in 2023.

In his two seasons with the Jaguars, Oluokun has earned team captain honors both times.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

In which 2023 games did each Jaguars defensive star shine brightest?

The Jaguars’ defense tailed off late in the year, but it still had some impressive moments in 2023.

Before the 2023 season began, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ defensive unit was expected to be a weakness. But there were a handful of weeks when defense won the game for the Jaguars.

When Jacksonville was at its best en route to an 8-3 start to the year, the defense was a key piece to the team’s success. The Jaguars’ played well as a unit, but the players stepped up individually at different points throughout the season.

While the defense eventually came unraveled and struggled down the stretch, here were the best single-game performances for each of the Jaguars’ key defensive players during the 2023 season:

Top 15 plays of the Jaguars’ 2023 season

The Jaguars didn’t end up in the playoffs like they hoped, but they still made several impressive plays en route to a winning record.

The Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t end up in the playoffs as fans hoped and most expected.

Instead of defending their AFC South title from the season prior, the team lost five of its last six to stumble to a 9-8 finish. That wasn’t enough to beat out the Houston Texans for the division crown and didn’t earn them a wild card berth either.

While the ho-hum ending to the year left a sour taste, Jacksonville’s talented roster still turned out a few impressive plays en route to a winning record in the 2023 season.

Here are the Jaguars’ top 15 plays of the season:

Jaguars hire ex-LSU DC Matt House as linebackers coach

The Jaguars are reportedly hiring former LSU defensive coordinator Matt House to coach their linebackers.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are hiring Matt House to their new linebackers coach, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

House most recently spent the last two seasons as the defensive coordinator for the LSU Tigers before he was fired earlier this month. After the LSU defense ranked 41st in the country during the 2022 season, allowing an average of 354.6 yards per game, it plummeted to 108th in 2023 with the average yardage climbing to 416.6.

Prior to his time at LSU, House made a few coaching stops in the NFL. Early in his career, he spent one season as an assistant special teams coach with the Carolina Panthers and three as a defensive quality control coach with the St. Louis Rams.

House’s last NFL stop was a three-year stint as linebackers coach for the Kansas City Chiefs. He also worked for three years as a linebackers coach at Kentucky while Jaguars pass rusher Josh Allen was at the school.

While Jaguars coach Doug Pederson elected to fire most of the defensive coaching staff, outside linebackers coach Bill Shuey was among those who were retained.

That could mean that House is tasked with working with the team’s inside linebackers. That group currently consists of Foye Oluokun, 2022 draft picks Devin Lloyd and Chad Muma, and 2023 pick Ventrell Miller.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

8 moves the Jaguars could make to create cap space in 2024

The Jaguars may need to create cap space if they hope to make moves this offseason.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are projected to enter the 2024 offseason with much more salary cap space than they did when they were over the limit heading into the 2023 offseason.

This time around, the Jaguars have more room to maneuver, but there are also some moves that could eat up that space quickly. For one, the team seems likely to franchise tag Josh Allen, which would guarantee the pass rusher about $22 million for the 2024 season.

If Jacksonville hopes to make that move along with any other additions or extensions in the 2024 offseason, the team simply has to find a way to create more room.

Fortunately for the Jaguars there are ways to make that happen. Some of the decisions will be relatively easy, others will be a much tougher call.

Here are eight ways the Jaguars could cut costs and clear space this offseason:

5 Jaguars who were 2024 Pro Bowl Games snubs

Two Jaguars players earned Pro Bowl nods, but there are a few more players who should’ve joined them.

The Jacksonville Jaguars had just two players on the list of 88 who earned 2024 Pro Bowl honors: outside linebacker Josh Allen and long snapper Ross Matiscik.

There’s still a chance that other Jacksonville players will eventually join that duo. Last year, zero Jaguars earned Pro Bowl honors on the initial roster announcements, but quarterback Trevor Lawrence and return specialist Jamal Agnew after injuries and the Super Bowl opened up more spots.

Ideally for the Jaguars, they’d have zero players participating in February and the team would instead be preparing for Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.

Until then or a time when more Jaguars are added to the rosters, here are xxx players who didn’t deserve to be left out Wednesday:

6 Jaguars finish top 10 in fan voting for 2024 Pro Bowl Games

Hours ahead of the rosters for the 2024 Pro Bowl Games being announced, the NFL released the list of players who got the most fan votes.

The rosters for the 2024 Pro Bowl Games will be announced Wednesday night at 8 p.m. ET.

Ahead of the announcement, the NFL released the list of the players who received the most votes from fans and it included six members of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Fan voting accounts for a third of the calculation for Pro Bowl nods with votes from players and coaches accounting for the other two-thirds.

So although the fan vote results don’t necessarily mean a player will earn a spot in the Pro Bowl Games, it’s a great start. With the roster announcements just hours away, here are the six Jaguars player who finished top 10 at their position in fan votes:

5 Jaguars players to watch vs. the Ravens in Week 15

Will a Jaguars wide receiver please step up?

Despite quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s active status last week, the Jacksonville Jaguars lost to the Cleveland Browns in the second of three straight games against AFC North teams.

The Baltimore Ravens, on the other hand, beat the Los Angeles Rams to earn a third straight victory.

Even though Lawrence played last week, the Jaguars are far from complete. Wide receiver Christian Kirk is likely out for the rest of the regular season and defensive backs Tyson Campbell and Andre Cisco didn’t practice Wednesday.

Here are five Jaguars players to watch as they take on the Ravens on Sunday Night Football in Week 15:

7 Jaguars are top 10 at their position in early Pro Bowl voting

Which Jaguars players are you hoping to see in the 2024 Pro Bowl Games?

After just over a week of Pro Bowl Games voting, there are seven Jacksonville Jaguars players in the top 10 at their position.

Tom Pelissero of NFL Network tweeted the full list of voting leaders as of noon Tuesday, eight days after the polling opened Monday, Nov. 27. Voting will continue until Dec. 25.

While there are seven Jaguars in the mix with just under three weeks left, the public vote counts for just a portion of the eventual tally. The votes of fans, players, and coaches each count for a third to determine the final rosters.

Here are the seven who are currently top 10 vote-getters:

Doug Pederson says Jaguars’ home crowd was too loud for the defense

Doug Pederson says the Jaguars defense was struggling to communicate because the EverBank Stadium crowd was so loud Monday.

The video scoreboards at EverBank Stadium encouraged fans to be as loud as possible on defense. Jacksonville Jaguars players asked for noise from the crowd throughout the team’s Monday Night Football matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Jaguars coach Doug Pederson apparently thinks his team’s defense might’ve been better off if everyone piped down a little bit, though.

“The crowd, as loud as they are, when we’re on defense, we have to reiterate communication,” Pederson said after the Jaguars’ 34-31 overtime loss. “It’s not communication issues, it’s just being able to communicate the calls effectively. There’s a lot of talk that has to go back and forth because of the way the crowd was.

“The crowd was great today. That’s what you want. It does kind of put your defense in a little bit of a bind because of that, right? No different than the offense going into an environment that’s very loud. I wouldn’t say they’re issues. You’ve just got to over-communicate.”

It’s an odd excuse for the Jaguars’ awful night of defense in which they allowed 491 yards to an offense led by a quarterback making his second career start. But Jacksonville’s communication issues were also hard to miss Monday night.

Over and over, Jaguars veteran linebacker Foye Oluokun was directing traffic and helping his teammates get lined up correctly pre-snap.

“It’s all about executing our calls, making sure our communication is good across the board,” Oluokun said after the game. “When we’re all clean and doing what we’re supposed to do, I know we can play way better than that.”

Part of the issue was the early departure of veteran cornerback Tre Herndon due to a concussion. Second-year cornerback Gregory Junior stepped into the lineup and appeared to struggle to understand what to do against a Bengals offense that used motion often.

“You just got to talk,” Pederson said. “They got to make verbal communication, eye contact. You got to get closer. It’s just part of a loud environment. It’s repeating yourself as much as you can out on the field.”

Next up for the Jaguars is a road trip to play the Cleveland Browns. Presumably, it’ll be quiet when the Browns are on offense. Oddly enough, that might be just what Jacksonville’s defense needs.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]