JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Maybe the Jacksonville Jaguars already have found their starting left tackle.

With the news that the Jaguars are a potential trade partner with the Miami Dolphins for left tackle Branden Albert, via a report by the Miami Herald’s Armando Salguero, it’s logical to think the teams didn’t just start discussions Thursday. If that is indeed the case, it makes sense that the Jaguars declined to pick up the four-year option on Kelvin Beachum by Wednesday’s deadline.

It’s potentially an interesting move because the 32-year-old Albert, who will be four years older than Beachum when the 2017 season begins, is at the back end of his career and is clearly not the long-term answer at the position. Teams don’t typically trade for older players unless they believe those players are the missing piece and are trying to squeeze the last bit of productivity to make a run to the or Super Bowl.

The Jaguars aren’t in that position, but as I’ve previously written, it’s clear that owner Shad Khan expects executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin, general manager Dave Caldwell and head coach Doug Marrone to win now. That’s why he gave them all three-year deals, which essentially is a two-year deal because you wouldn’t want those three to be lame ducks heading into their final season. Either the Jaguars make the playoffs by 2018 or there will be changes.

After quarterback play, the offensive line is the biggest area of need for the Jaguars to make the leap from a franchise that has lost double-digit games for six consecutive seasons to a playoff contender. They need the most help at guard — and are expected to sign at least one in free agency — but apparently also believe Albert is an upgrade over Beachum, who did well in pass protection but struggled in the run game in his first season back after suffering a torn left ACL.

HOOVER, Ala. — Former NFL running back Trent Richardson is facing a misdemeanor domestic violence charge in Alabama.

Police in the Birmingham suburb of Hoover say the 26-year-old Richardson was jailed Friday with bond set at $1,000.

A police statement says officers received a call about yelling coming from a guest room at a hotel Thursday night. It says police responded and found a woman with scratches and bruises on her face.

The statement says the two argued earlier at a Walmart store, and the dispute continued at the hotel. Paramedics treated the woman, but she didn’t require further medical attention.

Richardson played football at Alabama before turning pro. He spent four seasons total in the NFL at Cleveland and Indianapolis.

Records aren’t yet available to show whether Richardson has a lawyer.

Part of the job at this time of the year entails chatting with folks who work in the league.

Conversations ramble between what their team is up to, to the draft, to their golf game, to the greatness of Tom Brady, to what’s on Netflix.

Thursday I was chatting with an insider who knows offense and quarterbacks. In the course of the conversation, I threw out a question that came to mind because ESPN’s Bill Barnwell had opined in his “five things each team should do” story that the Browns should trade the first pick in the draft.

My knee-jerk reaction was that the No. 1 pick is too valuable to trade. The second is that between Julio Jones and Carson Wentz, Browns fans have had enough of trades down in the draft.

Regardless, the idea had me thinking. So I posed question to the insider: Would you trade the first pick in the draft for Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo?

MINNEAPOLIS — If Cordarrelle Patterson comes back to the Minnesota Vikings on a new contract, could he make a Ty Montgomery-esque move and help solve some of the team’s questions at running back? Our Vikings Twitter question of the week:

@GoesslingESPN Chances of bringing back Patterson, and would they consider using him at RB on occasion. #VikingsMail

— Chad Durand (@_Coach_Durand) February 9, 2017

@GoesslingESPN: We’ve received a number of questions in recent weeks about Patterson becoming a running back, should he return to the Vikings next year. That’s an important qualifier, with Patterson about to hit free agency, so I’ll answer that part of your question first.

Patterson seemed to find a role in the Vikings’ offense with Pat Shurmur taking over as the offensive coordinator, and I expect the Vikings will have some interest in bringing him back on a new contract, a year after they declined his fifth-year option. Patterson showed impressive personal growth in his contract year; his contributions as a gunner on special teams were critical to his increased role in the offense, as he restored coaches’ faith in him by showing he’d do whatever they asked. Patterson led the league in kick return average for the third time in four years, and his 52 catches were a career high. I’m sure the Vikings will see a role for Patterson during a full year in Shurmur’s offense — he became a frequent target for quarterback Sam Bradford on bubble screens last year — and while there’s a chance they’ll lose Patterson to some team that waves big money in front of him along with promises of making him a star, I think they’ll make a strong effort to bring him back at a reasonable price.

Now, if he’s back, can he be a running back on occasion? We saw him do it to great effect in 2013, when he ran for 158 yards on 12 carries and three touchdowns as a rookie, and he showed again last year he can gain yards after contact on his receptions. His average of 2.08 yards after contact per catch was 20th in the league, just behind Montgomery’s average of 2.11 yards, according to ESPN Stats and Information. But it’s another step entirely to expect Patterson to become the kind of consistent factor in the Vikings’ running game that Montgomery was for the Green Bay Packers last year.

When coach Mike Zimmer was asked about Montgomery in a conference call with Packers reporters in December, he praised the receiver’s ability to switch positions especially from the standpoint of mastering a new set of responsibilities in pass protection. There’d be a learning curve for Patterson there, and I’m not sure another significant role change is the most prudent course of action for a player who’s needed some time to learn the intricacies of the receiver position. And while Patterson is big enough to handle contact, he’d probably have to run lower than he does as a receiver, to take on defenders near the line of scrimmage and protect the ball.