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The Jaguars will eventually ink a deal with former Cleveland Browns linebacker Joe Shobert. With the new league year beginning today at 4 pm., team’s will officially be permitted to put pens to paper on the expected additions to their respective teams.
However, the league recently submitted a memo to teams prohibiting clubs from visiting with players in any capacity, which would prevent team’s from conducting important physicals for signings or trades.
PLAYER SIGNINGS: the NFL has prohibited clubs from announcing that the team has agreed to contract terms with a free agent until an NFL Player Contract has been executed, including a physical (see note above).
— Tad Dickman (@TDickman89) March 18, 2020
Happy almost new league year!
This morning, ESPN’s Dan Graziano reported Shobert’s deal as a five-year contract with $21.5 million of guaranteed money in the first two years. The deal includes a $12 million signing bonus with base salaries of $2.5 million in 2020 and $7 million in 2021. Each year also includes a $200,000 workout bonus and up to $300,000 in per-game roster bonuses.
As the Jaguars are wont to do, they’ve written up a fairly team-friendly deal with a potential out after the first two years. According to spotrac.com, Shobert’s 2020 cap hit will be $5,400,000 with cap hit in 2021 coming in at $9,900,000. There would be heavy repercussions for the Jaguars’ salary cap if he were to be released prior to 2022.
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If the team decides to move on from Schobert after two seasons, the team will save $4,450,000 in 2022 with $7,200,000 in dead money (money already spent).
Also according to spotrac, the Jaguars currently are sitting at $23,404,754 in cap space, with former Bengals cornerback Darqueze Dennard still pending.
The Jaguars have routinely negotiated deals that are back-loaded, giving the team flexibility only a couple of seasons down the line. This appears to be no different.
Once signed, Schobert will add another element to the Jaguars defense which they have missed in recent years — flexibility. The team will have the ability to move players around and become more creative in coverage thanks to his coverage skills demonstrated while a member of the Browns. With an average salary of $10.75 million, Schobert ranks ninth overall for average salaries in the NFL.