Tag: Jaguars

4 teams that could be fits for Cam Newton

Cam Newton is a free agent now, but there aren’t a lot of spots where he could get a starting job in the NFL. Here are four options.

(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Cam Newton hasn’t been healthy for almost two seasons now and that’s not a good sign for a quarterback who used a physical style to be successful. It would be a mistake to think he is done though. Newton is a former top pick in the draft. He’s won an MVP. He’s made three Pro Bowls and been voted All-Pro once. He’s made it to the Super Bowl. He has everything a team would need — when he’s healthy — to lead a squad to a winning record.

Yet, there seem to be slim pickings for Newton when it comes to choosing a team. He’s not going to a team to be a backup. A lot of teams are already settled on their starter. It’s a little late in the game and any team that signs Newton will want a full physical to make sure he’s healthy. That’s a bit difficult with the current Covid-19 situation. Still, these teams could eventually be fits for Newton, and they are spots he should consider when it comes to his free agency decision making process.

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5 teams that should look into picking up Jameis Winston

(Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports) The thirty-thirty man is still out there. Jameis Winston – one of one – is a man without a home. While Nick Foles was traded, Tom Brady landed in Tampa and Marcus Mariota even got a pretty nice contract from the …

(Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)

The thirty-thirty man is still out there. Jameis Winston — one of one — is a man without a home. While Nick Foles was traded, Tom Brady landed in Tampa and Marcus Mariota even got a pretty nice contract from the Raiders, the few things we’ve seen from Winston are workouts and him pushing an SUV.

Winston is good enough to play in the NFL. He threw for over 5000 yards last season. He had 33 touchdown passes. Yes, he had 30 interceptions and took 47 sacks, but there has to be someone out there that thinks they can lessen the bad and increase the good. It doesn’t look like Winston is going to get a big deal. He may have to resign himself to being a backup or playing on a one-year prove-it deal. Still, Mariota got a contract and he was benched last season for Ryan Tannehill. These teams should look into the former No. 1 pick.

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Seahawks make signing of tackle Cedric Ogbuehi official

The Seattle Seahawks have now officially announced the signing of former Jaguars and Bengals tackle, Cedric Ogbuehi.

The Seattle Seahawks have confirmed yet another free-agent signing that was reported last week. Seattle has now officially announced tackle Cedric Ogbuehi is under contract.

Seattle has been busy over the last few days but followed the NFL Management Council’s request via memo, which instructed teams not to announce any new deals until contracts had actually been signed.

Ogbuehi was originally selected by the Bengals with the No. 21 overall pick in the first round of the 2015 NFL draft out of Texas A&M. After four seasons in Cincinnati, the teams decided not to exercise his fifth-year option and he became an unrestricted free agent. He then signed a one-year deal with the Jaguars in 2019.

Ogbuehi will likely provide depth on the line throughout the offseason as he competes for a spot on the roster. He also has some experience at tight end and could look to replace George Fant in that role.

The Seahawks also officially announced the signing of center/guard B.J. Finney this afternoon as well. You can track all Seattle’s reported free-agent moves here.

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What are the Steelers getting in OG Stefen Wisniewski?

The Pittsburgh Steelers signed guard Stefen Wisniewski on Thursday.

It’s not often a veteran gets to play for their hometown team. But Stefen Wisniewski will. The 10-year offensive lineman, who spent seasons with the Raiders, Jaguars, Eagles, and Chiefs, was signed to a two-year contract Thursday.

The Pittsburgh native played high school football at Central Catholic before attending Penn State, where he helped the Nittany Lions to runners-up in the Big Ten title as a junior. The next spring, Wisniewski switched from guard to center, and earned first-team All-Big Ten honors.

Wisniewski was drafted with the 48th overall pick by the Oakland Raiders in 2011. He started all 61 games in four seasons at center for the Raiders.

After one season with the Jaguars in 2015, Wisniewski switched to left guard after signing with the Eagles. He became a Super Bowl-winning guard after Philadelphia beat New England in the 2018 Super Bowl.

After a successful three-year run with the Eagles, Wisniewski spent the past two seasons with the Chiefs, where he won his second-consecutive Super Bowl ring. The Chiefs starting LG, Wisniewski’s blocking helped score three unanswered touchdowns in the game’s final minutes of the 2019 Super Bowl. During his two-year Chiefs career, Wisniewski played in pass-blocking 131 snaps over eight games, which earned him an 80.5 grade from Pro Football Focus.

Wisniewski joins a top-ranked Steelers offensive line that is anchored by Pro Bowl center, Maurkice Pouncey, two-time All-Pro guard, David DeCastro; and two-time Pro Bowl left tackle, Alejandro Villanueva. Pittsburgh’s offensive line also includes starting tackle Matt Feiler, whom the team gave a second-round tender, and reserve tackle Zach Banner, who signed a one-year deal with the Steelers Thursday.

Joe Schobert’s contract details: Jags to take a cap hit of only $5.4 million in 2020

In 2020 Joe Schobert’s deal is a cap friendly one for the Jags, who will look to spend wisely in free agency.

With the Jacksonville Jaguars making their first splash signing of the tampering period when they agreed to terms with inside linebacker Joe Schobert, many fans were concerned about the deal’s structure. That’s mostly because of two players who may not be on the roster this regular season in Nick Foles and Yannick Ngakoue, who are set to be cap hits of $22.1 million and  $17.7 million (non-exclusive franchise tag), respectively.

However, as we expected, Schobert’s contract won’t hurt the Jags much at all as his cap hit for the upcoming season will be $5.4 million, according to Spotrac. The database also has him down for a base salary of $2.5 million, a $2.4 million signing bonus, a $300K roster bonus, a $200K workout bonus, and a $5.4 million cap hit. After 2020, he’ll also be down for cap hits of $9.9 million and $11.6 million in the years of 2021 and 2022 with a potential out coming in between.

When looking at the Jags’ cap hits for 2020, Schobert’s contract is ranked 10th, which isn’t bad at all for a free agent of his status. Additionally, it appears the Jags are being wise with the money recouped from trading veteran Calais Campbell ($15 million), which helped make Schobert’s addition possible.

With the Jags’ other new addition from Tuesday, Darqueze Dennard, not having his numbers confirmed yet, Schobert’s cap hit subtraction put the Jags at $19.1 million in available cap space. The team’s rookie pool (projected to cost $13.2 million) will have to be deducted from that total after April but the team will cross that bridge later and will probably dive into the money for the time being. However, if you took that total away from the Jags today, they would be at $5.9 million, but again, they likely are going to continue as if they have $19.1 million.

Of course, trading Foles and Ngakoue would add over $20 million, but it’s unclear when/if those moves will happen. The Jags could also release veteran receiver Marqise Lee and possibly defensive tackle Abry Jones, which would free up amounts of $5.2 million and four million, respectively.

The bottom line is that the Jags will be under the cap by the time the new league year starts Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET, which is required by all teams. However, the key to getting more wiggle room will be unloading Ngakoue.

PFF wants Bills to trade for Yannick Ngakoue

Pro Football Focus says the Buffalo Bills should trade for Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue.

The franchise tagging period in the NFL is getting underway. Among one of the first names to drop in terms of players getting that designation was Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. A player that’s been on the radar of Bills observers for some time.

Ngakoue was slated to be a free agent before getting the tag. He’s expressed his desire to play elsewhere, so a prospective new team will have to trade for him.

Could that team be the Bills? Pro Football Focus wants it to be.

The football analytics folks tabbed 10 trades they want to see go down in the NFL earlier this week. Among them was the Bills grabbing the 24-year-old from the Jags:

It’s a fit that makes sense. Buffalo had one of the better defenses in the NFL last season, ending the year ranked fourth in expected points allowed per play. But in many ways, it was a situation where the whole was greater than the sum of its parts. The Bills could stand to add a young, elite pass-rusher this offseason. Ngakoue certainly fits that bill (pun intended).

Pun intended indeed. If the Bills signed Ngakoue, he’d likely be replacing Shaq Lawson, who’s slated to become a free agent like Ngakoue was. While Lawson is a stout run defender, his pass rush as a former first-round pick has never been there.

This past season, Lawson set a career-high in sacks with 6.5. Ngakoue’s career-low in a single season is eight, which he’s done twice.

Of course, plenty of this depends on what the Bills would have to trade for him. In recent years, the price tag has been high for such deals involving a pass rusher. The Seahawks agreed to trade Clark to the Chiefs in exchange for a first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, a 2020 second-round pick and a swap of third-round picks in 2019. Are the Bills willing to pay such a steep price?

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Jalen Ramsey reacts to Jaguars’ latest trade involving A.J. Bouye

Jalen Ramsey is loving the Jaguars’ roster destruction.

After the Jaguars traded Jalen Ramsey to the Rams last season, the All-Pro cornerback expressed a sense of relief to be out of Jacksonville and in L.A. It’s not because the weather or food are better in Los Angeles, but because he was no longer part of the dysfunction inside the walls of the Jaguars’ headquarters.

He wasn’t the only player happy to be traded by Jacksonville, with Dante Fowler Jr. and Allen Robinson also sharing that same sentiment. The latest deal made by Jacksonville involves Ramsey’s ex-teammate A.J. Bouye, who the team sent to Denver for a fourth-round pick.

This was Ramsey’s initial reaction …

… followed by a more to-the-point one.

The Jaguars have completely torn down the roster that nearly got them to the Super Bowl a few years back, and it’s not over yet. They’re going to place the tag on Yannick Ngakoue, who has outright said he doesn’t want to stay with the Jaguars long-term.

Ramsey, Fowler, Robinson, Bouye and Blake Bortles are all with new teams, and none of them seem upset about getting out of Jacksonville.

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5 potential tag and trade partners for Jags pass-rusher Yannick Ngakoue

After this morning’s news he was going to be put under the franchise tag, these are 5 potential tag and trade partners for Yannick Ngakoue.

With news coming Monday morning of Yannick Ngakoue’s desire to play elsewhere in 2020, the Jacksonville Jaguars have made the decision to use their franchise tag on the former Pro Bowler. Unfortunately for the team, Ngakoue’s stance could lead to a trade, which general manager Dave Caldwell would have to orchestrate.

Make no mistake about it, using the franchise tag on Ngakoue is 100% the correct thing to do. At just 24 years old, there certainly will be interest in Ngakoue because good young pass-rushers are simply hard to find.

To lose a player of Ngakoue’s caliber for nothing would have been a devastating blow for Jacksonville. Now, Caldwell can explore the trade market and gain more ammunition for next month’s draft — that is if he wants.

The question then remains, who is willing to partner the Jaguars in a trade? Below is a list of some possible scenarios that could unfold before the starting of the 2020 season:

Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Miami Dolphins

With no illusions that the Dolphins will be using some of their ammunition to make a move for a franchise quarterback, it makes a ton of sense for Chris Grier to also secure the team’s long-term future at the next most important position by trading for Ngakoue.

With very little edge depth in this year’s class, it’s unlikely that the Dolphins would be able to secure an impact player of Ngakoue’s caliber with either the No. 18 or No. 26 picks. Whilst the idea of trading a first-rounder for someone who then wants to sign a contract averaging $22 million a year is scary, the Dolphins have plenty of cap space to do so. They currently have over $88 million in available space, good for first in the league and more than enough to absorb such a contract.

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Potential Bills target Yannick Ngakoue to be franchise tagged

Buffalo Bills free agent target Yannick Ngakoue gets franchise tag from Jacksonville Jaguars.

Yannick Ngakoue is an intriguing free agent prospect for the Bills to consider. Buffalo have a need for a defensive end that can provide more sacks, and that’s where the 24-year-old has thrived.

But that idea took a bit of a bump on Monday. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Jacksonville Jaguars will franchise tag Ngakoue. It’s a bit of a complex situation, though.

While Ngakoue’s tag news surfaced Monday, so did a tweet that Ngakoue sent out himself. Not only did Ngakoue say he’s “no longer” interested in signing a long-term deal with the team that drafted him, he made it sound like he doesn’t want to play for the Jags ever again. His message finished that he looks forward to “continuing my career else where.” No more Jacksonville, it seems:

Ngakoue’s situation could likely go one of two ways. He can find a new team, but the Jaguars will have to trade him there. Or we could see some sort of interesting holdout type of deal. Former Panthers cornerback Josh Norman, also a potential present day Bills free agent target, was previously franchise tagged by the Panthers. He didn’t want it, and after a dispute, the Panthers dropped the tag and eventually Norman latched on with the Redskins a few years back.

More recently, players such as Dee Ford, Frank Clark and Jadeveon Clowney, all top-notch pass rushers as well, were all traded by their teams after the franchise tag was placed on them.

Ngakoue has 37.5 career sacks in four seasons. His single-season lowest output was eight sacks. For reference, current Bills pending free agent Shaq Lawson had a career-high 6.5 sacks last season.

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Yannick Ngakoue to be franchise tagged by Jaguars

After stating his desire to move away form the team, Yannick Ngakoue is going to be franchise tagged by Jacksonville.

Pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue came out publicly Monday morning and stated his desire to move on from the Jacksonville Jaguars following four stellar years with the team. Reports came out last week stating that the pending free-agent was potentially looking for an average of $22 million per year, which would make him the highest-paid defensive end in the league.

The Jaguars were unable to satisfy the 24 year-old’s expectations and as a result, Ngakoue is unsurprisingly ready to move on from the team. Almost simultaneously alongside Ngakoue’s announcement, Adam Schefter of ESPN announced that the Jaguars are set to franchise tag Ngakoue with the following tweet:

The announcement from Ngakoue doesn’t come as much of a surprise given his recent social media activity. Over the weekend, he teased the announcement for Monday and swiftly crushed the hopes of one Jaguars fan, who responded with “pls tell me you’re staying in Jacksonville” only to be put down by an emphatic response.

Having made his intentions clear, there seems to be little chance that Ngakoue actually reports back on the tag. Therefore the Jaguars might use their premier talent as trade bait to acquire even more picks in the upcoming NFL Draft. There’s been some recent precedent for similar moves amongst teams across the league, as Dee Ford, Super Bowl winner Frank Clark, and Jadeveon Clowney were all subject to similar fates just last year.

Ngakoue won’t have the luxury of going through the free-agency process and hearing pitches from teams, but there will be a number of teams eager to trade for a player with 37.5 sacks in four seasons. Whilst this isn’t the clean break he perhaps wanted, Ngakoue’s mind appears to be set on playing elsewhere — or not playing at all.