USAT: Jaguars Wire audio clip

USAT: Jaguars Wire

Feb 24, 2022

The Jacksonville Jaguars may have the worst roster in football, but they at least have under $60 million in available cap space (for now) to change that quickly. That’s especially huge when considering they need a star at one of the most important positions in football: wide receiver. - With that being the case, one name that’s picked up steam as a potential fit at receiver for the Jags is one of their former second-round picks from 2014, Allen Robinson. After leaving Jacksonville for Chicago, he’s due for another deal, and when looking at the sour note that his tenure there ended on, it appears he has a good chance to hit the open market. - Despite not having a true franchise quarterback, Robinson’s tenure in Chicago was pretty productive overall. He ended it with 93 catches for 3,561 yards for 18 touchdowns, though Robinson only produced 410 receiving yards in his last season. However, that was partly due to only playing in 12 games due to a hamstring injury that sidelined him. - As for his time in Jacksonville, it was quite impressive, too. In just his second season he registered 1,400 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns, both of which are career-highs. And while many can point to that type of production being the product of a Jags team always playing from behind, he produced two more 1,000-plus yard seasons with the Bears, one of which came during a season where Chicago went to the postseason in 2020. - If the Jags are interested in a reunion with Robinson, who is well aware of Trevor Lawrence’s talent, Spotrac predicts that Robinson’s market value will be around $16.3 million/ year over four years. That’s a total that would be in the neighborhood of $65.5 million overall and would contractually last until he’s 32 years old. - Should the Jaguars pursue Robinson this offseason? - Well, when looking at the draft, the Jags have a high probability of not being able to get a receiver until pick No. 33 at the latest. It’s unlikely that a team will offer something good enough to move them off pick No. 1 for the simple fact that this isn’t the strongest quarterbacks class. As good as Aidan Hutchinson and Kayvon Thibodeaux are at pass-rushing, it’s hard to see teams outside of the top-5 giving up what’s needed to get them as well. - However, the Jags could move from Round 2 to the back of the first round to get a player, so that can’t be ruled out, either, but that would cost them draft compensation. Signing Robinson, which won’t be cheap, would keep the Jags from having to give up compensation and bank on a receiver falling out of Round 1. And even if they sign Robinson and a highly rated receiver falls out of Round 1, they could add that receiver to the mix with Robinson (preferably a speed threat) as the receiving corps needs multiple big-time investments. - So when considering these benefits and the fact that they have the money to pay Robinson, I’d say they should take a swing at him or any other free agent receiver who could put up No. 1 numbers for Lawrence. After all, they don’t have the burden of paying out a mega-deal at the quarterback position for at least two years, so why not utilize that window to spend at another premium position? - - - - - - - - - - - - Email - - - - - Sign up - - - - - - - - Like this article? - Sign up for the Jaguars Wire email newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning - - - - An error has occured - - - Please re-enter your email address. - - - - - - Thanks for signing up! - - - You'll now receive the top Jaguars Wire stories each day directly in your inbox.

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