The Jacksonville Jaguars drafted a defensive end in the second-round of the 2012 NFL Draft and re-signed Jeremy Mincey during free agency. It seemed pretty clear that the Jaguars were planning to move on from late free agent signing Matt Roth, who quickly worked his way into the starting lineup last season. Roth is a hard nosed, high motor player who fit the Jaguars defense when he was healthy, but a concussion against the Cleveland Browns ended his season prematurely.

It was reported the Jaguars essentially told Roth to seek other opportunities in free agency, and he is indeed doing that. The former Jaguars, Browns and Dolphins defensive end/linebacker had a visit with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Wednesday according to a report by Adam Schefter. I personally thought the Jaguars should have tried to bring back Roth on another one-year deal for depth if nothing else. Roth started nine games for the Jaguars last season and finished with 3.5 sacks on the year.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will officially sign former Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Lee Evans on Monday, according to a report by ESPN's Adam Schefter. The signing makes sense for the Jaguars and is a low-risk signing, being just a one-year deal. Evans was underwhelming, to say the least, with the Ravens after he was traded but he dealt with injuries the entire season.

I don't think this signing will preclude the Jaguars from drafting a wide receiver, or two, in the upcoming NFL Draft. If anything, it just adds another body to what should be a good competition once training camp and OTA's roll around. Evans is also someone new head coach Mike Mularkey is familiar with, being the head coach of the Buffalo Bills during Evans rookie and second seasons in the league.

Continue reading this post »

Wide receiver is a big area of concern for the Jacksonville Jaguars and they partially addressed that by signing free agent Laurent Robinson to a big deal. The Jaguars also visited with wide receiver Lee Evans a few weeks ago, and according to a report by ESPN's Adam Schefter, he will sign a one-year deal with the Jaguars on Monday.

Former Ravens and Bills wide receiver Lee Evans will sign a one-year deal Monday with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 15, 2012

Evans was originally drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft and looked like he would be a long term staple for the Bills, but his play began to taper off and he dealt with injuries. Evans was traded to the Baltimore Ravens last season, playing in just nine games. Evans finished the season with just 4 receptions for 74 yards.

On Thursday, March 15 Gene Smith spoke to the Jacksonville media one day after he had agreed to terms with Laurent Robinson and Chad Henne and told reporters that there was a "good possibility" the Jaguars would still look to free agency to improve the wide receiver position. It also appeared there was a possibility that the Jaguars could look to find a defensive end on the market to start opposite the newly re-signed Jeremy Mincey

However, eight days later the only other player the Jaguars have signed in free agency is defensive back Aaron Ross. During that time players like Mario Manningham, Brandon Lloyd, Kamerion Wimbley and Mark Anderson have gone off the market.

So with the top of the talent pool essentially gone, is there anybody still on the market that the Jaguars could be interested in?

Continue reading this post »

I have been watching the NFL for over 20 years and I've been blogging the NFL for nearly 10 years. Wednesday was one of the most bizarre and surreal things I've ever seen that I can remember. The New York Jets traded for Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow, then there was a snag in the trade because of a trade clause forcing a team to pay the Broncos back $5 million. This let the Jacksonville Jaguars get back into the race, a race in which they ultimately lost.

The Jets sent the Broncos a fourth-round pick and sixth-round pick for Tim Tebow and a seventh-round pick. By most reports, the Jaguars offered up a fourth-round pick and were willing to pay most, if not all, of the $5 million requirement. Ultimately, it got to the point where the Denver Broncos let Tim Tebow choose if he wanted to play for the Jets or the Jaguars.

How it all played out, was odd, and a perfect storm of negotiation by the Jaguars new owner.

Continue reading this post »

In some real Jacksonville Jaguars news, the team has interest in two free agent wide receivers that are still in the market. I Tweeted yesterday that I had heard the Jaguars were bringing in Lee Evans for a visit, but I could not confirm it. Well, the Jaguars are interested in Evans and another wide receiver according to a report by Tania Ganguli of The Florid Times-Union.

The Jaguars have interest in free agent receivers Lee Evans and Legedu Naanee.

Naanee spent last season with the Carolina Panthers and had 44 catches for 467 yards. He played in 15 games with 10 starts. Naanee spent the previous four seasons with the San Diego Chargers.

Evans was with the Baltimore Ravens last season. He played in nine games with two starts and the Ravens released him after the season. Previously, Evans had spent seven seasons with the Buffalo Bills in which he had two 1,000-yard seasons.

Both players make sense, as even outside of Laurent Robinson the Jaguars receiver situation is still murky. I'm of the opinion that you bring in as much talent as possible at the position this training camp and let the pieces fall where they may. The only person safe is Robinson, obviously, but every other wide receiver position is up for grabs.

Amidst a day of completely irrelevant news about the Jaguars and a player that shouldn't be mentioned as even a remote possibility for the team, the team actually made a move worth talking about. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that the Jaguars have reached a three-year deal with former Giants cornerback Aaron Ross worth up to $15.3 million.

Ross, 29, has spent his entire five-year career with the Giants after they selected him with the 20th overall selection in the 2007 NFL Draft, one pick before the Jaguars selected Reggie Nelson 21st. After making an early impact in his career, Ross was relegated to more of a reserve role in final two years in New York and started in 2011 only because Terrell Thomas was placed on injured reserve.

While the details of the contract have yet to be released, it can likely be assumed that the Jaguars have drawn up an incentive-laden contract for Ross, as they have attempted to do so for all the contracts they have agreed to this offseason.

Jacksonville reached agreement with former Giants CB Aaron Ross on a three-year deal worth up to $15.3 million.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 20, 2012

As the free agency market begins to cool off, there are only a few upper echelon players left on the open market. One of those could be defensive end Mark Anders, who's coming off a double-digit sack season with the New England Patriots in 2011. The Jacksonville Jaguars do have interest in the defensive end, according to a report by Tania Ganguli of The Florida Times-Union, but there is no visit scheduled yet.

Former Patriots defensive end Mark Anderson is in Tennessee today to visit with the Titans. The Jaguars have interest in Anderson, but have not scheduled a visit yet, according to a source.

...

Given the contracts the Jaguars paid defensive end Jeremy Mincey ($20 million with $9 million guaranteed) and Laurent Robinson ($32.5 million with $13.8 million guaranteed) Anderson likely wouldn't come cheap.

Anderson is currently visiting with the Tennessee Titans and has already visited with the Miami Dolphins. There is also the feeling that Anderson would like to return to the Patriots. Anderson was originally drafted by the Bears in 2006 and has 35.5 sacks in his career. Anderson is 28 years old and has two double-digit sack seasons in his career.