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On Tuesday afternoon, Ian Rapoport clicked send on the tweet we were all waiting for.
The #Vikings are trading standout guard Ezra Cleveland to the #Jaguars, per me, @TomPelissero and @MikeGarafolo. One of the better young players at his position, Cleveland moves on to beef up another O-line in exchange for a third-day draft pick. pic.twitter.com/uTItO1ECnE
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 31, 2023
The Jaguars made a trade!
Okay, sure, an edge rusher would’ve been nice -- but Washington’s Montez Sweat and Chase Young were the only such players dealt. Jacksonville wasn’t in a spot to send significant draft capital for a premier player on an expiring contract. Josh Allen is in the same boat, and last season’s Calvin Ridley trade blocks their 2nd-to-4th-round picks in next year’s draft.
The fact that a trade was made at all is really cool. It looks like a good deal on the surface, too. A young, athletic, and experienced bodyguard was added to Trevor Lawrence’s security detail for the price of Laviska Shenault Jr.
(The Jaguars received a 6th-round pick from the Panthers in 2022 in exchange for Shenault Jr., who has 34 catches in 19 games since. That pick now belongs to the Vikings.)
Doug Pederson gave an instant reaction on The Pat McAfee Show and the Jaguars announced the move 30 minutes later in a press release. We haven’t heard anything else from the team due to the bye week -- but that hasn’t stopped us!
Here is everything you need to know about the Ezra Cleveland trade.