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Jacksonville Jaguars make free agency splash, land Brandon Scherff, Christian Kirk
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- Jacksonville Jaguars make free agency splash, land Brandon Scherff, Christian Kirk
The Jacksonville Jaguars promised to be aggressive in free agency. They delivered reaching agreements to sign five-time Pro Bowler Brandon Scherff, playmaking wide receiver Christian Kirk, linebacker Foye Oluokun and defensive tackle Foley Fatukasi.
The four players are expected to officially join the Jaguars on Wednesday, the first day free agents can sign their contracts when the NFL's new year starts.
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GM Trent Baalke promised at the NFL Combine they would be aggressive, unlike last season when the Jaguars pushed more for value than overspend to add talent.
But Monday, the Jaguars were the most active team on the first day contract agreements could commence with free agents.
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Scherff, 30, was the best available guard on the free-agent market and a five-time Pro Bowler. And Pro Football Focus ranked Scherff as the 18th-best free agent. Scherff, 30, spent his entire seven-year career with Washington and was franchise tagged twice.
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According to the NFL Network, Oluokun's deal is three years, $45 million, including $28 million fully guaranteed at signing and Fatukasi's contract offer is three years, $30 million deal with $20 million of that guaranteed.
Perhaps, the Jaguars' most critical agreement was locking up Kirk, a much-needed vertical threat with speed for quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Kirk is coming off a career-best season in 2021 with 77 catches for 982 yards, averaged 11.0 yards per catch, and five touchdowns.
Kirk, 25, is superb at getting separation and has good hands, which has been missing with the Jaguars, who led the league last season with 39 dropped passes.
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Kirk's deal with the Jaguars is projected to be worth up to $84 million over four years, according to ESPN, which averages at $18M per season.
The Jaguars also averaged a franchise-low 14.9 points per game and had just 11 plays of 30-plus yards with quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Kirk will join a receivers group that includes Marvin Jones, Jr., Laviska Shenault and Jamal Agnew. A second-round pick in 2018 by the Cardinals, Kirk has 236 catches for 2,902 yards and 17 touchdowns in four seasons.
A focus of Coach Doug Pederson and Baalke was to improve the offensive line to provide better protection for Lawrence. In addition to Scherff, the Jaguars opted to franchise tag left tackle Cam Robinson for the second consecutive year at $16.6 million last week.
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Jags address defensive needs
Oluokin, 26, spent the previous four seasons with the Atlanta Falcons and led the NFL in tackles last season with 192. He will become the Jaguars' starting middle linebacker, replacing Damien Wilson, who is a free agent. Oluokin was a sixth-round pick by the Falcons in 2018 after playing collegiately at Yale.
Fatukasi, 27, spent the past four seasons with the New York Jets, totaling 115 tackles with three sacks and 14 quarterback hits. He started 15 games last season and had 46 tackles.
Chark will explore options elsewhere
The Jaguars did not reach a deal with wide receiver DJ Chark to keep him from hitting the open market as a free agent. Chark, a second-round pick in 2018, had his season in 2021 cut short in Week 4 when he suffered a broken ankle against the Cincinnati Bengals. In 2019, Chark caught 73 passes for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns to make the Pro Bowl.
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In 2020, however, Chark's numbers dropped to 53 catches for 706 yards and five touchdowns. In four games before his injury last season, Chark caught seven passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns.
Chark has been in Las Vegas with his wife, Chantelle, for the past few days. He tweeted photos from the trip Sunday.
The Jaguars have a significant need to upgrade the receiver position through free agency and the NFL Draft. Last season, the Jaguars averaged a franchise-low 14.9 points per game and had just 11 plays of 30-plus yards with quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
According to Spotrac, the sports business website, the Jaguars are roughly $40 million under the $208.2 million salary cap they spend on free agents.
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Jaguars extend tender to Wingard
After the first hour of the legal tampering period, the Jaguars had not reached a contract agreement with any free agents. They
did extend a tender to restricted free agent safety Andrew Wingard. The tender allows the Jaguars to have the right to match any offer sheet Wingard may sign with another team. However, there is no draft compensation tied to the tender. Wingard started 21 of 44 games in three seasons with the Jaguars and had 168 tackles with three interceptions.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars make free agency splash, acquire Christian Kirk, Brandon Scherff
