The Jacksonville Jaguars will allow special teamer Caleb Johnson to hit the free agency market, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
While Pelissero wrote that the Jaguars “couldn’t come to terms” with Johnson, the route to retain the 25-year-old linebacker was pretty simple. As a restricted free agent (RFA), Jacksonville could’ve put a right-of-first-refusal tender on Johnson which would’ve been set to pay him $2,985,000 in 2024.
That would’ve allowed Johnson to become a free agent, but given the Jaguars the chance to match any deal he signed on the open market. In most cases, though, a tender is enough to deter other teams from showing much interest at all.
While Pelissero’s report suggests the Jaguars had some interest in retaining Johnson, it seems the nearly $3 million price tag for a tender was deemed too steep.
Johnson appeared in 34 games for the Jaguars after he was claimed off waivers just before the 2022 season. All 558 snaps he played were on special teams where he was praised by coordinator Heath Farwell as someone who “exceeded expectations.”
