Many doubts have been raised about the Jacksonville Jaguars’ chances at keeping impending free agent Jawaan Taylor. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, if the offensive tackle hits the market it won’t be for lack of effort from the Jaguars.
In a Sunday morning column, Fowler wrote that the Jaguars are “pushing hard” to keep Taylor. So much so, that some teams are wondering if Jacksonville might consider reversing course and using the franchise tag on the right tackle instead of tight end Evan Engram.
Assuming they don’t use the tag to keep Taylor, the Jaguars face the uphill battle of convincing the offensive tackle that he should re-sign without testing free agency. According to Fowler, there’s “a massive market” for Taylor with the price tag expected to be in the $17-18 million per year range.
That’s a cost that’ll be difficult for the Jaguars to match. There are only 16 offensive linemen in the NFL with contracts worth at least $17 million per season, and the Jaguars have one in Cam Robinson who signed a three-year, $54 million deal last offseason. Guard Brandon Scherff isn’t far off that mark either with a three-year, $49.5 million contract.
While Jacksonville has done well to clear cap space in recent weeks, a massive contract extension for quarterback Trevor Lawrence isn’t far off on the horizon and the Jaguars can’t afford to be too tied down with big contracts in future seasons.
Still, the Jaguars don’t want to lose an offensive lineman who is just 25 and had a breakout year in 2022.
