Monday, February 4, 2013
WR picture for Jacksonville
By Tim Kavanagh
In signing veteran WR Laurent Robinson prior to the 2012 campaign, and drafting Justin Blackmon with their first-round pick, the Jacksonville Jaguars probably thought they'd solved their WR problems. As the season played out, however, they found that the issue was going to persist, so let's look ahead to what they can do for 2013.
Over the weekend, NFL.com posted an article regarding Robinson that certainly raises the question of whether he'll retire; the WR sustained two significant concussions in 2012, and is still experiencing headaches, sensitivity to light and fatigue. As for Blackmon, he got off to a slow start, but managed to get rolling once Chad Henne replaced Blaine Gabbert as the Jags' starting QB. Whether he can carry that over to 2013 -- regardless of who is throwing the ball -- is a big question. The Jags' leading WR in 2012 was Cecil Shorts, with 55 catches for 979 yards and seven TDs.
As we look ahead to the coming weeks, the Jags have around $22.1 million below the projected salary cap, according to ESPN's John Clayton, so they certainly have the wiggle room to sign another wideout if they so desire. By now, you've probably got the big-name impending free agent WRs memorized, but the list includes Mike Wallace, Dwayne Bowe, Greg Jennings, Wes Welker, Danny Amendola and Brian Hartline. Bear in mind that aside from Bowe, all of these players were catching passes from either a former Super Bowl MVP or a recent Top 10 draft pick in 2012. The dropoff to Henne or Gabbert could be significant.
As for the draft, it would be shocking if the Jags went WR at No. 2 overall given their needs elsewhere, but they may bolster their group with a later-round pick.
