Jaguars officially announce Calais Campbell, A.J. Bouye trade

It’s official, the Jaguars have traded both defensive end Calais Campbell and cornerback A.J. Bouye.

Due to restrictions surrounding the Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Jaguars and all NFL clubs have been in a sort of limbo, restricted due to their inability to conduct official physicals for the players they’ve acquiring. Thus, they have been unable to officially announce, or comment on, the various transaction that have occurred over the past 72 hours.

Bouye was able to conduct his physical before the official NFL mandate. However, today the NFL lifted some restrictions, allowing teams to announce trades or signings in which the paperwork has been sent.

“We respect and appreciate everything that A.J. did for the Jaguars during his three seasons with us. A.J.’s support of cancer awareness and his work with local families had a profound impact on our community, and we wish him the best moving forward.” said Jaguars General Manager Dave Caldwell.

Bouye contributed heavily on the field, but also off the field, constantly making sure he gave back to the community, including an annual “Shop with a Jock” event — a shopping spree done during the holidays for children from the Boys and Girls club.

“While these decisions are difficult, our priority is always to do what we think gives us the best chance to win football games, and we feel that adding a fourth-round selection and alleviating cap space provides us with the opportunity to make strategic roster moves by acquiring players in free agency or via the draft.”

Campbell, signed with the team in 2017 along with Bouye, was also a prominent member of the Jaguars community, and following being traded, the lumbering giant made a promise to keep a footprint of his highly successful, and charitable CRC Foundation, able to continue giving back to the community even while being away in Baltimore with the Ravens.

“Calais has been a tremendous player, an outstanding leader and an even better person during his three seasons in Jacksonville, and his 2019 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year recognition was well deserved. We respect his professionalism, appreciate his contributions to the Jaguars organization and the City of Jacksonville and wish him and Rocio the best in this next chapter in Baltimore,” said Caldwell.

Campbell is widely though of as the best free agent signing in Jaguars history, and was famously known as the “Mayor of Sacksonville”. He will be missed by Jaguars fans all over Duval.

“By trading A.J. Bouye and Calais Campbell, we not only added two more selections in the 2020 NFL Draft, but also created cap space flexibility to put ourselves in a better position to make strategic roster moves during the current free agency window,” added Caldwell.

The Jaguars acquired a fourth-round selection in the 2020 NFL Draft from the Denver Broncos for Bouye, and a fifth-round selection from the Baltimore Ravens in the same draft for Campbell. Two quality picks for players which the Jaguars felt that, while they were still productive, they were expendable for the betterment of the team.

Jacksonville will also save a combined $26,437,500 against their salary cap as the new league continues on.

“With more draft capital, we’ll be prepared to acquire new players via trade or in the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft in April. The acquisitions that we add to our team via free agency and the draft will complement the weapons that we already have on our roster, which allows our coaches and scouts to look at all opportunities to put the best possible team on the field in 2020 and beyond.”

The Jaguars will now have 11 selections in the 2020 NFL draft, and with potentially more trades to come, and some yet to be officially announced such as the trade which has reportedly sent Jaguars quarterback Nick Foles to the Chicago Bears for a fourth-round selection.