One of the biggest moves in the AFC South this offseason saw wide receiver Calvin Ridley leave the Jaguars to sign with the Titans in a move that his former teammate Andre Cisco said was indicative of a trend in the division this offseason.
During an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio, the Jaguars safety mentioned Ridley’s move, the Colts drafting Adonai Mitchell in the second round and the Texans adding Stefon Diggs as examples of a jump in the receiving talent in an AFC South — the Titans also signed Tyler Boyd — that already included the likes of Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce, Josh Downs, DeAndre Hopkins, Nico Collins, Tank Dell, and Robert Woods.
“The biggest difference I see is the quality of receivers in the division,” Cisco said. “I think the receivers have taken a huge jump from what the past two years have been in the division. Obviously, Rid going to Tennessee. I know the Colts drafted a kid from Texas. The Texans already were really good at receiver but then they add Stefon Diggs. The quality of receiver has taken a step forward. I think quarterbacks in the NFL, you’re not really gonna play too many duds, so for me, it’s kind of a regular day in the office in regards to who we’re playing. But the receivers could definitely make a big difference.”
Cisco’s attention is naturally on the players he’s going to be trying to stop, but the Jags were also part of the rising tide at the position. They signed Gabe Davis and drafted Brian Thomas Jr. in the first round to join Christian Kirk as their top three wideouts.
Leonard Fournette played in only two games last season and hasn’t had any offers since the Bills cut him in January. But he’d like NFL teams to know he’s available, if they want an aging running back.
Fournette’s agents had Adam Schefter post on social media today that Fournette is in shape and wants to be in training camp.
Whether any team wants the 29-year-old Fournette is another question. After he was released by the Buccaneers in March of 2023 it took him seven months to sign with another team, and when the Bills finally signed him in October he managed just 12 carries for 40 yards in two games.
The fourth overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft, Fournette had two 1,000-yard seasons in three years with the Jaguars and then won a Super Bowl ring with the Buccaneers. But at this point he’s a long shot to make a regular-season roster.
The Jaguars announced their schedule for this summer’s training camp on Tuesday.
The team will be holding camp at the Miller Electric Center, which opened last year, and will open 15 of their practices at that facility to the public. Fourteen of those sessions are open to the general public, but a July 26 practice is only for season-ticket holders.
In addition to those practices, the Jags will also hold an open practice at EverBank Stadium on August 3.
The other open practice dates are July 24 -25, July 27, July 29-31, August 2, August 4-5, August 7-8, August 12, and August 14-15. The final two practices will be joint sessions with the Buccaneers ahead of a preseason game between the two Florida-based teams.
There have been a pair of NFL stars named Josh Allen in recent seasons, but that won’t be the case in 2024.
Buffalo’s quarterback will still go by that name, but the Jaguars announced that their edge rusher will have a different name on the back of his jersey. He will now be known as Joshua Hines-Allen.
In the announcement about the change, Hines-Allen said it is a tribute to the maternal side of his family. His sisters, including WNBA player Myisha, have been using Hines-Allen as their last name for some time.
“Legacy is forever, and I’m proud to carry that tradition on the back of my jersey, following in the footsteps of my family, who have donned the Hines-Allen last name with so much pride and joy,” Hines-Allen said in a statement. “My last name has been changed, but I’m still that person. And I will continue to play like it, play even better.”
The Jaguars signed the pass rushing star to a five-year extension this offseason and they’ll be happy to call him anything he wants as long as he keeps producing at a high level.
The Jaguars have been waiting for months to get back on the field and start wiping away memories of their 1-5 finish to the 2023 season, but linebacker Devin Lloyd knows that it is “always going to be in the back of our minds.”
Lloyd made that admission during an interview with Jamal St. Cyr of WJXT and added that the memory of what happened last year doesn’t change the team’s high expectations for themselves in 2024. Lloyd said that the Super Bowl remains the team’s expectation, but that they have made offseason changes that he thinks will move the team in a more positive direction.
“We’ve been working a little bit differently as far as not following the philosophy of expecting different results, doing the same thing,” Lloyd said. “So, I would expect different results this year. We’ve changed things up a little bit for the better. I’m really just excited. We’ve got all the right pieces in place. OTAs went well. So really, you find out in training camp what type of team you are, and I look forward to getting out there and competing, competing with the guys, having a lot of fun, and really just getting better.”
After the Jaguars go through the summer process of finding out what type of team they are, the rest of us will get a chance to start finding out how well the offseason tweaks worked out when they head to Miami on September 8 for the first game of the regular season.
The Jaguars didn’t get much out of running back Tank Bigsby during his rookie season, but they’re hopeful the 2023 third-round pick will be a bigger contributor in his second NFL campaign.
Bigsby ran 50 times for 132 yards and two touchdowns while playing 141 offensive snaps last year. Bigsby’s role was cut down for most of the second half and Jaguars running backs coach Jerry Mack said he thought the rookie’s struggles early sapped him of his confidence.
Mack said he saw “a revitalized type of attitude” from Bigsby this offseason and believes that the back had a chance to “see exactly what this league is all about” while watching lead back Travis Etienne.
“Just a refocus. I think he understood last year, being new to the National Football League, everything was extremely fast for him,” Mack said, via Juston Lewis of the Florida Times-Union. “I think now things are starting to slow down for him. He understands his role in this offense. He’s understanding the ins and outs of the offense a lot better as well.”
Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said this offseason that he thinks Etienne can be more productive with less wear and tear. A better Bigsby will make it easier for the Jaguars to follow through on any plan to cut Etienne’s workload.
When tight end Evan Engram joined the Jaguars in 2022, there was little question that he was an athletic target in the passing game but there were questions about his durability and consistency after issues on both fronts during his time with the Giants.
Engram has answered those doubts over the last two years. He has not missed a game and he set career highs in receptions and yards in 2022 that he broke with 114 catches for 963 yards last season. Now that Engram has shown he has those traits, he’s set a new goal for himself in his third year in Jacksonville.
“My role was underneath being the security blanket for Trevor underneath and getting the ball in my hands fast, getting up field and moving the chains,” Engram said, via Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com. “I’ve done that really well and I think the next level for me is to improve that intermediate, deep range . . . Making more explosive plays, downfield, more touchdowns, being a bigger red zone target. Those are my goals. I think that can take it to a whole other level.”
The Jaguars brought in wide receiver Gabe Davis as a free agent and they drafted Brian Thomas Jr. in the first round, so they aren’t putting all their deep threat eggs in Engram’s basket this season. Anything Engram can do to become an even bigger threat on offense will still be appreciated by a team trying to bounce back from a disappointing 2023 campaign.
Philadelphia has dropped a little uniform news on a summer Friday.
The Eagles announced that they will wear their Kelly Green throwback jerseys two times in 2024: Week 9 against the Jaguars and Week 17 against the Cowboys.
The Week 9 matchup with Jacksonville is set for Sunday Night Football.
Philadelphia brought back the Kelly Green throwbacks last season. The team wore them twice last year. The club beat Miami at home on Sunday Night Football in Week 7 and then defeated Buffalo in overtime on a rainy afternoon in Week 12.
The Eagles stopped wearing their Kelly Green uniforms full-time back in 1996.
The Jaguars struck a deal to secure their future in Jacksonville this week and team owner Shad Khan would like to spend less time wading through the free agent market over the course of that future.
Jacksonville signed players like defensive lineman Arik Armstead, wide receiver Gabe Davis, center Mitch Morse and safety Darnell Savage this offseason and they made a lot of other notable additions via that path in recent seasons as they remade their roster. That helped make them a playoff team in 2022 and it set them up for another run in 2023 before a late season collapse, but Khan said this week that he doesn’t want it to be the long-term approach to roster building.
“I think there’s a sea change for us — and this is for our coaching, that they have to develop young players,” Khan said, via the team’s website. “Our solution isn’t going to be we’re going to be signing free agents every year. We don’t have the ability. Bottom line is that young talent has to be developed. The coaching, the coaching staff, their priorities have to change. Their mindset has to change. That’s where we’re going to get our future players. We cannot have this addiction to free agents.”
The Jaguars signed quarterback Trevor Lawrence and edge rusher Josh Allen to long-term deals this offseason, so they’ve developed some young talent in recent years. They’ll need to add to that total in order to fufill Khan’s wish for the future of the franchise.
Doug Pederson and Press Taylor shared play-calling duties for the Jaguars in 2022. In 2023, Taylor had the job full time for the first time.
Pederson has not said who will call the plays this season.
Owner Shad Khan was asked his opinion on who he wants as the Jaguars’ primary play caller in 2024.
“Yeah, I have an opinion,” Khan said, via Mark Long of the Associated Press. “But I don’t want to tell people ‘We need to do it’ because then things don’t work out, they look at me and say, ‘We did it because you wanted it.’”
Interestingly, Khan referenced a New York Times story that placed Taylor on the hot seat in 2024. Khan did not deny that was the case, and in fact, said, “If I were in that situation, I’d want my hands on the wheel” as the play caller.
“Doug, he’s empowered,” Khan said. “I’m going to let him decide.”
The Jaguars lost five of their final six games last season to lose the AFC South and miss the playoffs. Pederson is 18-16 in two seasons in Jacksonville.