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The Jacksonville Jaguars have reportedly agreed to a trade to send cornerback A.J. Bouye to the Denver Broncos for a fourth round draft pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The Broncos and Jaguars have agreed on a trade that would send cornerback A.J. Bouye to Denver for a 2020 fourth-round pick, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 3, 2020
The trade cannot be processed until the new league year begins March 18th.
The fourth-round pick will not be the Brocnos’ original pick, but the selection they acquired via San Francisco — pick No. 134.
In 2017, Bouye produced a Pro Bowl season accounting for six interceptions on the team and was named to the AP’s second-team All Pro roster shortly thereafter.
Since then, Bouye has not produced at the level he is capable of, dealing with injuries and a lack of talent surrounding him causing his play to deteriorate. However, at times the veteran cornerback showcased the skills the team saw in him when he signed in 2017 and showed on the field during the same season.
The Jaguars are now without all five players featured in the 2017 Jaguars secondary, nicknamed the ‘Jackson five’, including Bouye, Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey, Texans safety Tashaun Gipson, Barry Church, and Aaron Colvin.
Seemed like just yesterday... #Jaguars
— Demetrius Harvey (@Demetrius82) March 3, 2020
Now all gone. pic.twitter.com/VG46BDnkFZ
The Jaguars will save ~$11,437,500 in space space by trading Bouye. The team will have plenty of room to franchise tag defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, as they are expected to do following multiple reports on Monday. According to OverTheCap.com, the Jaguars currently have $21,425,536 in cap space. With Bouye’s figure off the books, the team will have ~$32,863,035 heading into free agency.
In speaking with ESPN’s Josina Anderson on the phone, Jaguars cornerback A.J. Bouye stated, “I’m on the way to get my kids, I get a call from (Dave) Caldwell, saying he appreciates everything I did for the team. Then (John) Elaway calls me, saying welcome to Denver. Now everyone is calling, I’m just finding out,” said Bouye to Anderson. “I want to thank Jacksonville.”
AJ Bouye to me on the phone: "I'm on the way to get my kids, I get a phone call from (Dave) Caldwell, saying he appreciates everything I did for the team. Then Elway calls me, saying welcome to Denver. Now everyone is calling, I'm just finding out. I want to thank Jacksonville."
— ig: josinaanderson (@JosinaAnderson) March 3, 2020
Bouye instantly became the team’s leader within the defensive backs group after the Jaguars traded Ramsey to the Rams shortly into the 2019 season. The Jaguars will now be in search of at least one, maybe two cornerbacks to court either via free agency or the draft.
All in all, it’s a great deal for the Jaguars — they were going to likely cut Bouye anyway and now they have a high fourth round draft pick for their efforts.
The Jaguars will now have two first-round sections, two fourth-round selections, and two sixth-round selections heading into April. They currently select on picks: 9, 20, 42, 73, 116, 134, 166, 189, 206, 224.
The trade cannot be processed until the new league year begins March 18th.