Last week, reports surfaced that Jaguars linebacker Telvin Smith could be on the trade block. Smith, along with star cornerback Jalen Ramsey, ruffled the feathers of executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin when they failed to report to the team for voluntary workouts (which, in turn, compelled a number of football writers to remind Coughlin of the definition of “voluntary”).
The trade rumors intensified when the Jags selected Murray State linebacker Quincy Williams in the third round of the draft on Friday, and GM Dave Caldwell did not do much to quash the rumblings in his post-draft interview. Although Caldwell said that he did not receive any trade calls on Smith during the draft, he was cryptic when asked whether Smith would remain with the club in 2019.
“We’ll see,” Caldwell said. “I don’t want to get into hypotheticals” (via John Oesher of Jaguars.com on Twitter).
Coughlin, though, was quite clear that he expects Smith to stay with Jacksonville. He said, “Telvin Smith is a linebacker on our football team. We fully expect him to be here. That’s all there is to it. If you know something else, tell me.”
In response to the reports that Smith might be available via trade, Coughlin added, “What reports? Not that I know of.”
Smith would certainly be quite attractive to teams that still find themselves in need of a quality linebacker. The 2014 fifth-round pick just turned 28 and is a capable defender against the pass and the run. He’s also something of a playmaker, having recorded at least two interceptions in each of the past three seasons, and he has three career touchdowns.
Smith has been a full-time starter for the Jags since November of his rookie campaign. He is under club control through 2021 thanks to the four-year, $44MM extension he signed in October 2017.
Might be a stretch to say a guy drafted (even as a third-rounder) who wasn’t even on most guru’s draft board, is destined to start over Smith starting Day 1.
Baltimore could use him definitely