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2024 Jaguars free agency: Here's who the team can't afford to let go this offseason
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- 2024 Jaguars free agency: Here's who the team can't afford to let go this offseason
With the Super Bowl officially behind us and the NFL's offseason under way for all 32 teams, it's time to take a closer look at who the Jacksonville Jaguars might let go in free agency and, more importantly, who they need to bring back next season.
The Jaguars have 21 players set to hit free agency , including 15 who will be unrestricted free agents. Those set to be unrestricted will be able to sign with any team at the start of the new league year on March 13.
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The Jaguars can prevent one unrestricted free agent from hitting the open market by applying the franchise or transition tag.
Last season's plan in Jacksonville was to retain most of their impending free agents . Though a couple of players got away, including Super Bowl-winning right tackle Jawaan Taylor , Jacksonville was able to retain essentially everyone who paved the way for the team's second AFC South title in history.
This year, Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke admitted that his team won't look the same as it did last year. The question is, how much different will it look, he said, while noting he feels strongly about the team's "good nucleus" of players.
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"This team is going to look different when we strap it up in April, when the offseason program gets going," Baalke said at his end-of-season press conference in late January.
"Every team in the National Football League is going to look different. How much different depends on a lot of the discussions we're going to have over the next couple of weeks."
Of the 15 impending unrestricted free agents, there are at least four players whom the team shouldn't let make it to the open market, or if they do, can't let them sign with another club.
Jaguars enter 2024 offseason with few, but important free-agent decisions to make
The Jaguars don't have a slew of free agents to make decisions on. There aren't many Arden Keys or Jawaan Taylors that the team is going back-and-forth about.
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Still, Jacksonville must make a few decisions on key free agents.
Of the 15 players Jacksonville is slated to see walk in free agency, there are at least four players that the team must make an effort to retain.
Josh Allen , 26, outside linebacker
Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill (17) gets off a pass ahead of Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Josh Allen (41) during their game at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024.
This one's a no-brainer, and the Jaguars are adamant that Josh Allen will be a Jaguar in 2024 anyway.
Still, barring a franchise-transition tag or a contract extension, Allen is set to hit the free market, able to sign with any team. The Jaguars simply can't let that happen.
Since being drafted by the Jaguars in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, Allen has become one of the team's most productive pass rushers in history.
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Allen has accounted for 45 career sacks, just 10 shy of Tony Brakens' franchise-record 55 sacks. This year, Allen accounted for 17.5 sacks, three more than the previous single-season franchise high set by Calais Campbell in 2017.
Allen embodies everything it means to be a franchise talent without being a quarterback.
Calvin Ridley , 29, wide receiver
Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Calvin Ridley (0), seen here going to the ground against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, did what most NFL players do in free agency and took a whopping $92 million contract from hated AFC South rival Tennessee Titans.
The Jaguars acquired Calvin Ridley via a midseason trade with the Atlanta Falcons in 2022. After serving the remainder of his indefinite suspension, Ridley was reinstated before this past season.
He quickly established himself as one of the team's top receivers, accounting for 76 receptions for 1,016 yards and eight touchdowns in 2023. Ridley led the Jaguars in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Some of that was helped by the loss of Christian Kirk , who suffered a core muscle injury that required surgery with a few weeks left in the season.
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Jacksonville's path to retaining Ridley will be more tricky than Allen's. Ridley is set to be 30 years old in December and will cost the team a second-round pick if they don't want him to hit the open market. Though there is some wiggle room with the franchise tag potentially, the Jaguars are more likely to place that on Allen.
It will be hard to retain Ridley at the start of the new league year. With Tee Higgins unlikely to be a free agent this year, Ridley could be the top wideout available. Jacksonville is already set to lose Jamal Agnew in free agency and needs to keep its corps solid between Kirk, Ridley and Zay Jones .
Tre Herndon , 27, defensive back
Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Tre Herndon (37) is introduced before a regular season NFL football matchup Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Baltimore Ravens defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 23-7. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]
Tre Herndon has been with the Jaguars since 2018 when he signed with the team as an undrafted free agent out of Vanderbilt.
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Though he's only started 34 games in his career, including five in the last two seasons, Herndon has played on a one-year deal in each of the past three seasons. He has played at least 37% of the team's defensive snaps since 2019.
Herndon is a valuable player with versatility. He's played both inside and outside at corner and nickel back throughout his career. Over the last two seasons, Herndon has played primarily inside and started much of last season inside at nickel, playing primarily on passing downs to end the year.
Jacksonville's depth at corner is going to be challenged over the coming years with Darious Williams and Tyson Campbell entering the final years of their contracts.
Getting Herndon back in the fold shouldn't cost too much and will give Jacksonville some depth to move forward with this offseason and into the 2024 campaign.
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Ezra Cleveland , 25, offensive lineman
Jacksonville Jaguars guard Ezra Cleveland (76) in action during an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough)
The Jaguars acquired Ezra Cleveland from the Minnesota Vikings in the middle of last season in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Jaguars coveted Cleveland at the trade deadline and felt strongly about his future in Jacksonville.
"I think you have to look at long-term as well," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said of Cleveland in November last year.
"The age of our offensive linemen, [OL] Brandon Scherff , as great as he's been playing, he's not getting any younger. [OL] Tyler Shatley isn't getting any younger. You've got to have guys that are very capable that are going to be on your roster. You definitely have to look at long-term I think in situations like this."
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Cleveland was forced into the starting lineup quickly in Jacksonville, starting five games, including four at left guard and one at left tackle.
The Jaguars will have a tough decision to make regarding Scherff and Shatley is a free agent that could be nearing retirement. Retaining Cleveland for depth purposes is necessary.
Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Demetrius82 .
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars 2024 free agency: 4 players must be retained including Ridley
