Jaguars To Re-Sign Marqise Lee
Allen Robinson has left Jacksonville to sign with the Bears, but the Jaguars are retaining their other top free agent wide receiver. Marqise Lee has agreed to re-sign with the Jags, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). It’s a four-year deal with a maximum value of $38MM, including $18MM guaranteed, a source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). 
Before this week’s free agent frenzy, few expected Lee to net a deal as strong as this. However, after fellow WRs Robinson, Sammy Watkins, and Paul Richardson netted mega contracts, the price went up for Lee and others.
Lee doesn’t offer the same tantalizing talent as Robinson, but he has been a reliable receiver for Jacksonville over the years. Heading into free agency, I rated Lee as the 27th best available player on the market.
Lee had the most catches of any Jaguars receiver in 2017 (56) and finished second in receiving yards (702). Lee does not profile as a WR1, but he’s a solid WR2 who offers familiarity with quarterback Blake Bortles. It’s a seller’s market for wide receivers this year, so Lee presumably had plenty of lucrative offers from other teams.
Between 2016 and 2017, Lee racked up 119 receptions for 1,553 yards and six touchdowns.
Jaguars Re-Sign WR Shane Wynn
The Jaguars have agreed to re-sign wide receiver Shane Wynn, according to John Oesher of Jaguars.com (on Twitter).
Jacksonville signed Wynn, 25, prior to the 2016 season and provided him with his first NFL action. He caught two passes and also had three carries last season. He’s also spent time on practice squads for the Browns, Jets, Chargers and Saints. The Falcons originally signed Wynn as an undrafted free agent in 2015 out of Indiana.
Wynn provides the Jaguars with some depth as Allen Robinson and Marqise Lee entered the offseason as unrestricted free agents. Robinson agreed to a three-year, $42MM deal with the Bears on Monday.
Jacksonville has had a pretty busy Tuesday. Earlier, the team agreed to a five-year, $66.5MM deal with guard Andrew Norwell.
Jaguars Were In On Sammy Watkins
Early Tuesday morning, Sammy Watkins agreed to a three-year, $48MM deal with the Chiefs. Before that, Watkins had a booming market for his services. The Cowboys, Bears, Jaguars, and the incumbent Rams were among the teams in on the highly-coveted wide receiver, according to Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (on Twitter). 
Watkins served as one of the top wide receivers available as an unrestricted free agency, along with Jaguars free agent Allen Robinson. The Bears reportedly agreed to a three-year, $42MM deal Monday with Robinson, who missed nearly the entire 2017 season with a torn ACL.
If Watkins were to have gone to the Cowboys, that would’ve certainly paired up a dynamic and intriguing receiving tandem alongside Dez Bryant. The Jaguars are definitely in need of a wide receiver with the departure of Robinson, along with Marqise Lee set to become an unrestricted free agent.
Jaguars LB Paul Posluszny Retires
Jaguars linebacker Paul Posluszny has formally announced his retirement from the NFL following an 11-year career.
Posluszny, 33, was originally selected in the second round of the 2007 draft. After spending four seasons with the Bills, Posluszny signed a hefty deal with Jacksonville, and has remained with the club ever since. Last season, he earned the first postseason berth of his career as the Jaguars advanced to the AFC Championship Game before losing to the Patriots.
Although he had been an every-down player for the majority of his career, Posluszny’s playing time was drastically reduced in 2017 as the Jaguars got younger and faster at linebacker. While seeing action of fewer than half of Jacksonville’s defensive snaps, Posluszny managed 42 tackles and 1.5 sacks.
That’s not to say Posluszny wouldn’t have garnered interest on the free agent market, as PFR had ranked him as the No. 7 available linebacker. Pro Football Focus, too, was a fan of Posluszny’s 2017 work, and had graded him as the league’s 15th-best ‘backer last season. But in a NFL more geared toward passing than ever before, Posluszny and his run-stuffing skills likely wouldn’t have landed a multi-year deal.
PFR extends its best wishes to Posluszny in retirement.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/13/18
Here are today’s restricted free agent and exclusive-rights free agent tender decisions, with the list being updated throughout the day. All links go to Twitter unless otherwise noted:
RFAs
Tendered at original round level ($1.907MM):
- Cardinals: DL Xavier Williams
- Jets: S Rontez Miles (via Ralph Vacchiano of SNY)
- Saints: WR Willie Snead (story)
- Steelers: LB Anthony Chickillo (via Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Non-tendered:
- Saints: CB Delvin Breaux (story)
ERFAs
Tendered:
- Bills: TE Nick O’Leary, DE Eddie Yarbrough, TE Logan Thomas, CB Lafayette Pitts (via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com)
- Browns: FB: Dan Vitale, C Austin Reiter (via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal)
- Buccaneers: RB Peyton Barber (story)
- Jaguars: WR Shane Wynn (story)
- Packers: QB Joe Callahan, T Adam Pankey (reports via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com),
- Ravens: RB Alex Collins, TE Vince Mayle, CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste (via Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com, on Twitter)
Non-tendered:
- Bears: TE Daniel Brown, LB John Timu
Jaguars Sign Andrew Norwell
The Jaguars and guard Andrew Norwell have agreed on a five-year, $66.5MM deal, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter), with $30MM fully guaranteed. The deal is set to pay the former Panther an average of $13.3MM per season, making him the highest-paid guard in the NFL.
Norwell, a former undrafted free agent, was ranked at No. 4 in Pro Football Rumors’ Top 50 NFL Free Agents for 2018. The Jaguars fill a need at left guard as Patrick Omameh is due to become an unrestricted free agent.
Pro Football Focus ranked Norwell as the third-best guard in the league last year. The Jaguars have solidified the left side of their offensive line for newly-extended quarterback Blake Bortles and standout rookie Leonard Fournette, with Cam Robinson — the team’s second-round pick last season — entrenched at left tackle. The signing will certainly give the upstart Jaguars a boost a day after watching wide receiver Allen Robinson agree to a deal with the Bears.
Norwell started all 16 games at left guard for Carolina last year for the second straight season. They elected to not place the franchise tag on Norwell as the offensive lineman tag was at $14.54MM. The Panthers originally signed Norwell as an undrafted free agent in 2014 out of Ohio State.
The Giants and Cardinals had both been reported to have been in pursuit of Norwell and both have connections to the All-Pro offensive lineman. New Giants general manager Dave Gettleman originally signed Norwell as an undrafted free agent and new Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks worked with Norwell all four years of his career while on the Carolina coaching staff.
Allen Robinson Confident He’ll Receive Multi-Year Deal
Despite missing the majority of the 2017 campaign due to injury, wideout Allen Robinson still believes he’ll get paid this offseason. Appearing on Mad Dog Sports Radio today, Robinson told the hosts that he doesn’t believe his ACL injury will keep him from earning a multi-year deal (via Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com).
Of course, it was likely that same ACL tear that kept the Jaguars from placing the franchise tag on the wideout. As Alper points out, some around the league were wondering if Robinson would have to settle for a one-year deal in order to reestablish his value in time for 2019 free agency. However, the wideout said conversations with his agent have led him to believe that he’ll definitely “get a multi-year deal done.”
While the wideout didn’t definitively name any landing spots, Alper points out that Robinson “reacted positively” when asked about the direction of the Bears and 49ers. The receiver also noted that he could end up back in Jacksonville.
The 2014 second-round pick has spent his entire career with the Jaguars, earning himself a Pro Bowl birth. Following a breakout 2015 campaign that saw him haul in 80 catches for 1,400 yards and 14 touchdowns, Robinson appeared to take a step back in 2016. The receiver finished that campaign with “only” 73 catches for 883 yards and six scores. He tore his ACL during his team’s Week 1 contest against the Texans.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/12/18
Here are today’s restricted free agent and exclusive-rights free agent tender decisions, with the list being updated throughout the day.
RFAs
Tendered at second-round level:
- Falcons: G Ben Garland (via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution)
- Jaguars: RB Corey Grant (via John Oehser of Jaguars.com, on Twitter)
- Redskins: T Ty Nsekhe (via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, on Twitter)
- Titans: G Quinton Spain (Twitter link via Paul Kuharsky)
- Vikings: G/C Nick Easton (per Tom Pelissero of NFL.com, on Twitter)
Tendered at original-round level:
- Bears: CB Bryce Callahan, WR Cameron Meredith, WR Josh Bellamy (via Rich Campbell and Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, all Twitter links)
Non-Tendered:
- Broncos: WR Bennie Fowler (via Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post, on Twitter)
- Packers: P Jake Schum (per Rob Demovsky of ESPN)
ERFAs
Tendered:
- 49ers: RB Raheem Mostert (per Mostert’s agent, Brett Tessler, on Twitter)
- Broncos: LS Casey Kreiter, WR Jordan Taylor, LB Zaire Anderson, T Elijah Wilkinson, LB Jerrol Garcia-Williams, LB Joseph Jones (Jhabvala reports, Twitter links)
- Giants: G Jon Halapio (via ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan, on Twitter)
- Jaguars: TE Ben Koyack, OL William Poehls (Twitter links, via Oehser)
- Packers: WR Michael Clark, OL Justin McCray, CB Donatello Brown (all Twitter links via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com and Michael Cohen of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
- Raiders: K Giorgio Tavecchio, LB Shilique Calhoun (Twitter links via Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Josina Anderson of ESPN.com)
- Rams: RB Malcolm Brown, CB Troy Hill (per Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com, on Twitter)
Non-Tendered:
- Bears: LS Patrick Scales (via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, on Twitter)
- Cardinals: TE Ifeanyi Momah (Twitter link via Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic)
Latest On Allen Robinson’s Market
PFR’s No. 1 wide receiver available, Allen Robinson will be set to see a bevy of offers once the tampering window opens on Monday.
While Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports the Jaguars would love to retain the wideout they didn’t opt to use the franchise tag on, they will have immense competition. The Browns and Bears may be the two most aggressive pursuers, per La Canfora, but the Ravens and Panthers are also in the mix for the fifth-year receiver.
The Ravens missed out on a Jarvis Landry trade and may be set to revamp their receiving corps. The Panthers just traded for Torrey Smith. Neither of these teams can compete with the Bears or Browns in terms of cap space, with the Panthers sitting at less than $25MM and the Ravens at barely $4MM. JLC describes Baltimore and Carolina as expressing interest but maybe not on the level of Cleveland and Chicago’s.
Cleveland did add Landry and has outside receivers in Josh Gordon and Corey Coleman. However, neither of those players were acquired by this regime and, with Gordon’s rampant off-field issues and Coleman’s injury struggles, it’s possible the front office wants more help in addition to Landry. The Bears have a bigger need at wideout after its previous corps struggled with injuries and production. The Browns hold more than $82MM in cap space, and the Bears are sitting on just more than $50MM.
Robinson doesn’t have the cleanest track record as far as staying on the field, but his dominant 2015 season (14 touchdowns, 1,400 air yards) understandably would have teams teeming with interest.
Jaguars Want Allen Robinson Back
- Though they didn’t place the franchise tag on him, the Jaguars do in fact like Allen Robinson and would like to have him back at the right price, general manager Dave Caldwell told Pro Football Talk. “At some point in time, just like other free agents, we’ve walked away. We don’t want to do that with Allen because he’s ours. We’ll see. We have a lot of options on the table with that.”