The Jacksonville Jaguars are doing everything they can to re-sign both wide receiver Allen Robinson and defensive back Aaron Colvin for the 2018 season. By signing Blake Bortles to a cap-friendly deal, where only $10 million of his $20 million salary of 2018 counts against the cap, the team has freed up enough cash to potentially get a deal done for both players.
Robinson was hurt in the opening moments of the 2017 season and suffered an ACL tear. He is still regarded as one of the top 10 best potential free agents this offseason. Colvin was an integral part of the secondary that was one of the best in the NFL last year. There are many NFL insiders who believer there will be a big market for Colvin, a fourth-round draft pick out of Oklahoma in 2014.
Per bigcatcountry.com, “Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell spoke at the 2018 NFL Combine on Wednesday afternoon and should have alleviated some of the growing concerns of Jaguars fans on keeping some of their pending free agents. Caldwell indicated that the Jaguars have the salary cap space to re-sign both wide receiver Allen Robinson and cornerback Aaron Colvin.”
The Jaguars showed how shrewd they can be in designing contracts for veteran players. Bortles, who told the media last week he wanted to remain in Jacksonville with the team he quarterbacked to the AFC Title game and he wanted to bring back as many players as possible that were potential free agents.
That “want” may now become a reality.
Jaguars’ head coach Doug Marrone spoke with the media on Wednesday at the NFL Scouting Combine about the team moving forward. He said he Robinson is another player this team would love to have in the fold.
“I think when you look at the team, Allen was obviously a very good player for us. We have options right now with the tag that is out there. We will be in discussions or have been in discussions and we have been in planning and it is one of those things where when we have an announcement to make, it will come out.”
Robinson was a Pro Bowl player in 2015 and showed he is one of the best wide receivers in one-on-one matchups in the league. His presence would give the Jaguars a clear No. 1 wide receiver. The status f both Marqise Lee and Allen Hurns is up in the air. Lee could become a free agent. Hurns may need to restructure his deal with the team to return for another season.
“These are all discussions [about re-signing Lee] and plans we are having. Those are things that we are going to keep within house and when a decision is made and going forward in whatever direction we will come out with an announcement from myself, [EVP of Football Operations] Tom [Coughlin] and [General Manager] Dave [Caldwell].”
On Saturday evening, Bortles and the Jaguars agreed on a three-year contract extension worth $54 million with $26 million in guaranteed money. The Jaguars also announced they had released running back Chris Ivory after two seasons, which freed up more than $3 million in cap space.