Devin McCourty re-signs with Patriots, Jaguars were in mix per report

The Jacksonville Jaguars will miss out on free agent safety Devin McCourty, according to a report by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. McCourty was arguably the No. 1 target in free agency for the Jaguars and the guy most Jaguars fans wanted the most in the offseason. He was considered to be the missing piece in Gus Bradley's Cover-3 scheme, playing the all important deep safety in centerfield.

#Patriots S Devin McCourty will sign a 5-year, $47.5M contract, source said. Wow. And... turned down more elsewhere

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 9, 2015

After the New England Patriots decided to use their franchise tag on a kicker and let McCourty hit the open market, you knew that the safety would be highly coveted by multiple teams in free agency, mostly because the market was so thin at the position.

The Jaguars appeared to have been heavily in the mix, however.

Eagles and Giants took their best shot at McCourty. Others, including Jaguars, were in the mix. But back to NE he goes.

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 9, 2015

Most felt it was likely McCourty would return to the Patriots after they cleared some cap room, so don't be surprised if the Jaguars turn their attention to someone like Ron Parker in the second wave of free agency.