After Jaguars cut Leonard Fournette, all signs point toward top of 2021 draft
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell said the plan for 2020 was to purge high salaries, to get the salary cap under control and to fix a locker room culture that had soured because of — among other things — selfishness, contract issues and personal agendas.
But in trying to do that, the Jaguars are left with a team that is one of the youngest in the league and has little proven talent. In the wake of Monday’s release of running back Leonard Fournette and Sunday’s trade of defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, it’s hard to look at everything that has happened in the past several months and not think the franchise is, well, tanking.
Intentional or not, that’s the perception of the Jaguars in 2020.
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A team can’t trade its best defensive player and cut its second-best offensive player (arguably behind receiver DJ Chark) on consecutive days and not have it read that way. Especially considering the other moves the team has made since the 2019 season ended.
Caldwell and coach Doug Marrone will vehemently deny it. Both are in jeopardy of not being back in 2021 if the team posts a third consecutive losing season after the surprising run to the AFC title game in 2017. They believe they have a roster that will allow them to be competitive in the AFC South — and possibly compete for the final playoff spot if second-year quarterback Gardner Minshew thrives in Jay Gruden’s West Coast-style offense.
Who knows? Maybe they’re right. Maybe the Jaguars will go worst to first the way they did in 2017.
That team, however, was loaded with defensive talent. Six players went to the Pro Bowl and another, nose tackle Marcell Dareus, was a former Pro Bowler. The 2020 Jaguars are nowhere close to that, talent-wise.
Not after trading Calais Campbell and cornerback A.J. Bouye in March. Not after their marquee free-agent signing was middle linebacker Joe Schobert (who does fill a significant need) and their No. 2 signing was defensive lineman Rodney Gunter, who retired earlier this month because of a heart problem.
Not after trading Ngakoue to Minnesota for a second-round pick in 2021 and a conditional pick in 2022.
| Year: Player | Result |
|---|---|
| 2017: Leonard Fournette | Released in 2020 after third season |
| 2016: Jalen Ramsey | Traded to Rams in 2019 during fourth season |
| 2015: Dante Fowler Jr. | Traded to Rams in 2018, now with Falcons |
| 2014: Blake Bortles | Cut after five seasons, remains free agent in 2020 |
| 2013: Luke Joeckel | Signed with Seahawks in 2017, no longer in league |
| 2012: Justin Blackmon | Suspended for substance abuse, has not played since 2013 |
| 2011: Blaine Gabbert | Traded to 49ers in 2014, now backup with Bucs |
| ESPN Stats & Information | |
The Campbell and Bouye trades were salary-driven, as was the trade of quarterback There’s nothing worse in the NFL than being irrelevant. Muddling around in the five-, six-, seven-win range and realistically being out of playoff contention before Halloween year after year is awful. That’s what happened with the
