Top Player to Be Resigned by the Jaguars This Offseason: Which Player?

Here we have the third weekly offseason poll for the Jacksonville Jaguars! Which player, barring the present Jaguars, should the Jags seek in free agency this offseason? That was the question we posed to you last week.

According to the findings, supporters wanted to see a range of players in various positions wearing Jaguars jerseys. But with 27% of the voting from fans, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins won the majority. Chris Jones, DL for the Kansas City Chiefs, came in second with 13% of the vote. Other supporters chose maybe more realistically priced choices; Dolphins G. Robert Hunt and C. Connor Williams of the Miami Dolphins each received 9% of the vote.

Not surprisingly, a lot of talk about free agency is focused on Jaguars Pro Bowl OLB Josh Allen, even though it’s only a few weeks away (the time officially opens on March 13 at 4 PM EST). Allen’s continued presence has been made abundantly evident by Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke and new defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen; however, it is unclear if the team will franchise tag or resign Allen.

Though there are other multi-year starters on the team who are expected to enter the market in March, Allen is undoubtedly the most important pending free agent for the Jaguars. In light of this, this week’s query is: Out of all the Jaguars’ pending free agents, which one (aside from Josh Allen) should be their top choice to return in free agency this offseason?

This question, in my opinion, is totally dependent on what the Jaguars want to do with free agency and the NFL draft. Ezra Cleveland loses value if the Jaguars are especially excited about this year’s offensive line draft class and intend to target replacements in the interior offensive line. In a similar vein, Ridley and Agnew become less valuable if the Jaguars intend to pursue fan-favorite Tee Higgins in free agency or are wowed by someone like Texas wide out AD Mitchell or LSU wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. It’s also important to remember that the Jaguars would lose their second-round draft pick to the Atlanta Falcons if Calvin Ridley were to resign.

All things considered, if I were the Jaguars, I would work quickly to come to an agreement with Josh Allen, leaving Calvin Ridley with the choice to use the franchise or transition tags, depending on how much he wants to pay for a new contract. By doing this, the Jags would be able to keep Ridley on the table and avoid giving up a second-round draft pick (they now owe a third-round pick). Even though I think this year’s wide receiver draft class is excellent, this move would give the Jags scouting department flexibility in the event that they disagree with my evaluation. I’m leaving Agnew in the meantime on a short-term, one- to two-year contract. Agnew still has exciting returning ability and deep-threat potential as a role player on the offense, but he is most definitely not worth the almost $5 million/year contract he signed back in 2021. A two-million dollar-a-year, one-to-two year contract seems quite reasonable and market-valued. I mean, Jamal Agnew is loved by all of my friends, right?

What say you, Jags fans? Who would you fire first, and for what amount of money? Tell us in the comments below!