Thursday, February 7, 2013
Jacksonville's FA plans
By Tim Kavanagh
As would be expected for any team that went 2-14 a season prior, the Jacksonville Jaguars are poised to make big changes this offseason, a process that already began with the hiring of a new GM and a new coaching staff. Next up is free agency, so what's the plan?
First, the Jags will have to decide whether to re-sign (or franchise tag) their own free agents, a group which includes Eben Britton, Brad Meester, Greg Jones, Daryl Smith, Rashean Mathis and Derek Cox. Then, they'll hit the FA market with a good chunk of cap space to spend: per ESPN's John Clayton, they're projected to have $22.1 million under the cap for 2013. The Jags have been linked speculatively to pass-rushers -- such as Jacksonville-area native Cliff Avril -- cornerbacks and wide receivers. But perhaps we shouldn't pencil in any of the top guys landing in northern Florida.
"We'll be active but we're not going to be overly active," GM David Caldwell explained, per the Florida Times-Union. "We're not going to go after high-priced free agents. We'll be ready if something we like presents itself, but we're not going in to make a big splash. We're going to be a draft-driven team. I anticipate building through the draft. That's our vision -- and supplement where we need to in terms of getting some depth through free agency."
After free agency comes the draft, and Caldwell indicated that he'll listen to offers for the No. 2 overall pick. Then again, it takes two teams to make a deal, and that would require some other team interested in moving up, something about which we've heard very little thus far.
