Jaguars To Meet With Hayden Hurst
- Hayden Hurst will visit the Jaguars on Tuesday, Rapoport tweets. Rated by many as the top tight end in this year’s class, the South Carolina product will meet with a team that just released one of its cornerstone players in Marcedes Lewis. Jacksonville has been busy at this position this offseason, agreeing to deals with Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Niles Paul. But the team looks to be exploring the notion of further investing at tight end with the No. 29 overall pick.
Jags Audition Kellen Clemens, Austin Davis
Kellen Clemens saw the Chargers agree to terms with Geno Smith on Sunday night, and it looks like he’ll be in need of another employer. A potential suitor emerged Monday.
The Jaguars worked out both Clemens and Austin Davis, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The Jags lost longtime backup Chad Henne recently but traded for Cody Kessler.
Blake Bortles agreed to an extension to stay in Jacksonville but is recovering from offseason wrist surgery. Kessler is the only other quarterback on the Jags’ roster, so the team may have some work to do for depth purposes. They will need more arms to run offenses during OTAs at the very least, and Clemens has been one of the game’s longer-tenured backups.
This is the 34-year-old passer’s first visit this offseason. He spent the past four seasons backing up Philip Rivers and has worked in this capacity for most of his career. Although, he started nine games for the 2013 Rams in Sam Bradford‘s stead. A former second-round Jets pick, Clemens has attempted 100 passes in a season just twice in a 12-year career.
A teammate of Clemens’ in St. Loius, Davis spent the 2017 season backing up Russell Wilson in Seattle. The Seahawks remain in need of a No. 2 QB behind Wilson, and both Davis and Clemens worked under new Seattle OC Brian Schottenheimer with the Rams. So, they would be natural options to play behind Wilson. Seattle has not been connected to either quarterback thus far this offseason, however.
Davis, 28, served as the relief arm for Bradford in 2014, when he suffered another knee injury, but has not thrown a pass in a game since the 2015 season while with the Browns.
Henne spent four seasons as Bortles’ backup but signed to play behind Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City. It’s likely the Jaguars will at least look at passers in this year’s draft, and with Kessler now in the picture, there might not be room for a veteran should Jacksonville take a quarterback in the middle rounds or higher. But both Henne and Davis have more experience as NFL backups than Kessler.
Maryland WR D.J. Moore Has Ties To Jaguars
- Mel Kiper Jr. had the Jaguars taking Maryland wide receiver D.J. Moore (Maryland) with the No. 29 pick in his latest mock draft. Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union points out that Moore played for current wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell at Maryland where he was a wide receivers coach for two seasons.
Poll: Which Team Has Been The Biggest Winner In Free Agency?
With March drawing to a close and many of the game’s top free agents already inked to deals with their new teams, it’s time to take a look at the winners of free agency so far.
Entering the period, the focus was solely on Kirk Cousins and where the former Redskins signal-caller would sign and likely become the highest-paid player in the league. He expressed interest in wanting to win and followed through with his word, selecting the Vikings over a host of other suitors that included the Jets, Broncos and Cardinals. Landing a top quarterback on the open market is a rarity, which makes Minnesota easily one of the top beneficiaries of the early free-agent period. 
The team wasn’t done there, however, and added an impact defensive tackle in Sheldon Richardson to a defensive unit that was already arguably the best in the league. Coupling Richardson with Linval Joseph in the middle of the front four will make for one of the most impenetrable run defenses in the league. Minnesota also added Trevor Siemian to back up Cousins, re-signed kicker Kai Forbath and tabbed Kendall Wright to replace Jarius Wright, who the team released shortly after free agency opened.
Adding Cousins to an offense that already includes Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen, Dalvin Cook and Kyle Rudolph, and slotting Richardson into the fray on the other side of the ball left the Vikings as one of the top Super Bowl favorites in 2018.
While the Vikings swung for the fences with a pair of big moves, no team has had a more active few weeks than the Rams. Just this week, the team added five-time Pro Bowl selection and 2010 Defensive Player of the Year Ndamukong Suh to a defensive front that already featured arguably the game’s most dominant defender in Aaron Donald. Needless to say, that pairing is sure to cause plenty of chaos for opposing offensive lines.
Despite losing Sammy Watkins to the Chiefs and trading Alec Ogletree to the Giants, the team did retain safety Lamarcus Joyner by placing the franchise tag on him. It also retained center John Sullivan to maintain some continuity up front on offense.
Where the Rams were the most active was not in signing players, but trading for them. In late February, the team traded for Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters and then later dealt for Broncos star cornerback Aqib Talib. The pairing, coupled with the Suh signing, gives the Rams a defense that is just as good on paper as the team’s high-powered offense.
The Browns entered the free-agent period with tons of cap space and they didn’t wait long to get to work. In one day, the team traded for Tyrod Taylor from the Bills, dealt DeShone Kizer to the Packers for Damarious Randall and used another trade to snatch up Jarvis Landry. All those moves were accomplished with the team still holding onto a majority of their stockpiled draft assets. The move of Taylor provided the team with a more than capable quarterback who can serve as a bridge to the signal-caller the team is expected to draft with either the No. 1 or No. 4 pick in the upcoming draft.
Though the team did lose Joe Thomas to retirement and a big contributor in Isaiah Crowell, Cleveland did also secure the services of Carlos Hyde to serve as the team’s workhorse. After addressing the offense in free agency, the team is set up to pursue top defensive talent in the draft after it nabs its quarterback of the future. 
The Bears made it a point to surround 2017 first-round pick Mitch Trubisky with plenty of weapons in his second season under center. They did just that by tabbing Allen Robinson, Super Bowl-hero Trey Burton and Taylor Gabriel, giving the team a steady group of pass catchers for new head coach Matt Nagy’s dynamic offense. On defense, it retained the services of breakout cornerback Kyle Fuller, who the team had to match an offer for from the Packers.
One under-the-radar signing was the deal to bring in veteran quarterback Chase Daniel. A longtime backup in New Orleans, Kansas City and Philadelphia, the former Missouri gunslinger should help Trubisky in the film room while also serving as a capable fill-in if need be.
The Buccaneers invested heavily in their offense early in free agency, re-signing wide receiver Mike Evans and tight end Cameron Brate to long-term deals. Where they made the biggest splash, however, was the signing of center Ryan Jensen from the Ravens. After just one season at the position, Jensen signed the largest deal for a center in NFL history, a four-year deal for $42MM with $22M in guaranteed money.
Tampa Bay didn’t ignore the defense, however, bringing in the likes of Jason Pierre-Paul in a trade and signing Vinny Curry. If things fall right, the Buccaneers could even add the top defensive end in the draft in Bradley Chubb, should a run on quarterbacks happen early in the first round.
Among the other teams with notable additions include: The Texans (Tyrann Mathieu), 49ers (Richard Sherman), Raiders (Jordy Nelson), Jaguars (Andrew Norwell) and Giants (Nate Solder).
So who has had the best offseason so far? Is it a team that made a flurry of moves or one who made one notable addition? Take PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section.
Who has been the biggest winner in free agency so far?
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Rams 27% (1,262)
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Vikings 22% (1,000)
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Other 17% (777)
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Bears 16% (743)
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Browns 16% (732)
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Buccaneers 2% (81)
Total votes: 4,595
Browns Trade QB Cody Kessler To Jaguars
The Browns have traded quarterback Cody Kessler to the Jaguars, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). The Browns have acquired a conditional 2019 seventh-round pick in the deal. 
The Browns have now traded two quarterbacks this offseason after also sending quarterback DeShone Kizer to the Packers. Tyrod Taylor, who was acquired in a March trade with the Bills, profiles as their starter and the recently signed Drew Stanton will take one of the backup spots. The Browns are expected to take a quarterback with the first overall pick, so there was no room left for Kessler.
Cleveland didn’t get much in this trade, but Kessler didn’t have much value given his iffy performance in eight starts in 2016. The Jaguars, meanwhile, believe that Kessler has some potential, so he could be a candidate to take over for Chad Henne as Blake Bortles‘ backup. If Kessler doesn’t impress this summer, the Jaguars could release him without having to forfeit the draft pick to the Browns.
Brice Butler To Meet With Four Teams
Brice Butler‘s market is starting to heat up. In the next two weeks, the Cowboys free agent wide receiver Brice Butler will visit with the Seahawks, Bears, Jaguars, and Cardinals (Twitter link via Jane Slater of NFL.com). 
The 28-year-old has been vocal about wanting the opportunity to do more in 2018. Last year, Butler finished out with just 15 catches for 317 yards and three touchdowns. After the season, he opined that he could have outperformed teammate Dez Bryant if he had the same number of targets.
“100 percent,” said Butler. “Because I’m ready. It’s my time, I’ve been there for three years. I feel like me and Dak [Prescott] have a really good relationship. We work on routes. There’s times that we might not have completed a square-out throw in practice, and we’re taking that time out in practice to actually work on it. So I think that’s why when you saw us in the game, he tried to come to me, and most of the times we produced.“
Bryant underwhelmed for Dallas last year, but still had 69 receptions for 838 yards and six TDs. For now, Bryant remains part of the Cowboys’ plan with Butler likely moving on following the addition of Allen Hurns.
“With Dallas, the situation has to be right for me to go back,” Butler said earlier this year. “I have to be a starter. If I’m not starting, I’m not going back,” Butler said.
Wherever Butler lands, he’ll be in for a pay raise. Butler earned just $1.1MM on a one year deal in 2017.
O'Halloran On QBs, TEs, Grant
- Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union offers his thoughts on a number of Jaguars-related items. For instance, he believes that, the longer Jacksonville is without a No. 2 QB, the likelier it is that the team uses a fairly high draft pick on a signal-caller. He also says the Jags need another versatile TE to continue running their grind-it-out offense, and he wonders if the fact that the team put a second-round tender on Corey Grant — which Grant signed several days ago — means that Grant will have a bigger role in the offense in 2018.
Jaguars RB Corey Grant Signs RFA Tender
Jaguars running back Corey Grant has signed his second-round restricted free agent tender, according to Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Exclusive rights free agent tight end Ben Koyack has also inked his tender, tweets Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union.
Grant was one of 14 NFL restricted free agents to be tender at the second-round level, and he’s the second — following Falcons guard Ben Garland — to officially sign his tender. There was no rush for Grant to ink his tender, as RFAs have until April 20 to work out offer sheets with other clubs. However, it was always unlikely that any NFL team would have been willing to sacrifice a second-round pick in order to land Grant.
Grant, 26, has never been a focal point of Jacksonville’s offense, but he’s contributed when on the field. Over the past two years, Grant has averaged a whopping 6.6 yards per carry on 62 rushes while scoring three touchdowns. He also served as the Jaguars’ primary kick returner in 2017, and has seen at least 45% special teams playtime in each of his three NFL campaigns.
The Jaguars released veteran running back Chris Ivory earlier this offseason, so Grant could conceivably see more of a role on offense. However, Jacksonville’s running game will clearly be centered around starter Leonard Fournette, with backup T.J. Yeldon chipping in on passing downs.
13 Teams Watched Johnny Manziel At USD Pro Day
Former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel threw passes at Thursday’s University of San Diego pro day, and 14 NFL clubs were on hand to watch him perform, reports Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
The Bears, Browns, Chargers, Giants, Chiefs, Jets, Patriots, Raiders, Titans, Lions, Jaguars, Panthers and Buccaneers, were all present at today’s workout, per Williams. Of course, those clubs weren’t necessarily in town just to see Manziel, as USD had its own prospects on the field.
Manziel was thought to be interested in working out a deal to play in the Canadian Football League during the 2018 campaign, and was in fact offered a contract by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in January. However, Manziel and his team reportedly weren’t pleased with the terms of the pact, and he’s now scheduled to play in the upcoming Spring League. The former first-round pick is reportedly amenable to a minimum salary or a practice squad slot.
Manziel is still only 25 years old, but he hasn’t played in the NFL since the 2015 campaign. In eight career starts for the Browns, the former Heisman trophy winner completed 57% of his passes for 1,675 yards, seven touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
Jaguars Carve Out Cap Space
The Jaguars converted linebacker Telvin Smith‘s $8MM roster bonus into a signing bonus, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The roster bonus was due on Sunday, but the blow to this year’s cap has been lessened thanks to this maneuvering. 
[RELATED: Jaguars’ Depth Chart]
The Jaguars also created room on Tuesday by releasing wide receiver Allen Hurns and tight end Marcedes Lewis. Those moves plus the Smith restructuring have created roughly $16.75MM in additional cap space for Jacksonville.
Smith, a former fifth-round pick, has become a major contributor for the Jags. Last October, Jacksonville rewarded him with a four-year extension worth $44MM plus incentives that can push the value of the deal to $50MM. The 26-year-old (27 in April) is fast enough to play in coverage, but has also been stellar against the run.