Jaguars wanted Zane Beadles to be leader

Veteran offensive guard Zane Beadles was the Jaguars first signing in NFL free agency during the 2014 offseason (Red Bryant was before FA started) and was handed a hefty contract. Some wondered why Beadles would choose to sign with a team like the Jaguars so quickly, rather than test the market.

One of the reasons, Beadles told TDDaily.com, was the fact that the Jaguars wanted him to be the leader on a relatively young offensive line.

"There's a ton that goes into it," Beadles told Matt Meier of TD Daily. "People always say it's a business, and it absolutely is, but it's also people's lives and things of that sort. Obviously money does play a role into it, but there are plenty of other things that were a huge factor for me. Jacksonville expressed to me that they wanted me to come in and be a leader on a young offensive line, and I think that role was just something that was very exciting for me to do that and step into that role."

In a stark change from last season, the 27-year-old Beadles is the oldest player on the Jacksonville Jaguars offensive line.

"You know, I went from being one of the younger guys in Denver to the oldest guy in the O-line room in Jacksonville, which is definitely a different transition but something that I'm excited about," Beadles told Meier. "I talked to a bunch of people that kind of knew what was going on in Jacksonville and knew about Gus Bradley and the new owner Shad Khan and [general manager] Dave Caldwell and what they're trying to do down there. And like I said, we're heading in the right direction, and it was something exciting, and people are very excited about it and very positive about it, and I wanted to be a part of something like that."

The end of that comment by Beadles is something we've heard over and over again from players who've ended up signing with the Jaguars. We've also heard praise from national media and other pundits about what and how the Jaguars are building, which is a big change from what we're normally accustomed to hearing this time of year.

And like everyone else, he can't praise Gus Bradley and his style enough.

"He's an extremely positive guy, always excited to be at work-energy like I've never seen before-and it makes it fun to come in every day and get to work and makes you look forward to getting in there and getting better," Beadles told TD Daily.com. "And that's what it's all about at the end of the day-being better than you were the day before-and if you take that approach, things will happen in the end."

You can read the full interview here.