JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Tom from Keystone Heights, FL
Did the Jaguars interview Kyler Murray? Between this quarterback class with Nick Foles being paid say 18.5 million a year plus Josh Rosen. How would you in your humble opinion have said quarterbacks ranked?
I don't know if the Jaguars interviewed Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray at last week's 2019 NFL Scouting Combine, and I couldn't care less if they did or not. I don't keep track of what teams – including the Jaguars – interview what players because combine interviews have become the most meaningless news of the pre-draft cycle. Most teams interview most of the draft's top players either at the Senior Bowl or the combine – or on the player's campus or at the team's facility – and even when teams don't interview players at those events they sometimes draft them. A sure sign of a media type who doesn't know what he/she is doing at the combine is to stand around a podium yelling at the players, "Have you met with the Browns? Or the Lions? Or the Raiders?" Or whoever. As far as your question, I think you're asking how I would rank this quarterback class compared to Foles and Rosen. I would probably go: Foles, Dwayne Haskins, Rosen, Drew Lock, Murray with Foles getting the edge because of experience and readiness to play consistently immediately.
Gabe from Chapel Hill, NC
Of course Foles is average. Nobody thinks he's going to light it up next year. With this team and this defense right now, he just has to be consistently good enough. That's something Blake Bortles couldn't be and something rookies rarely are – even the ones who end up successful.
Fair.
Rob from Ponte Vedra, FL
Let's not trade Gip. That would create a huge hole in our defense and we would have to sign another free agent to replace him. As far as I know, he is also the only "tight-end whisperer" on this roster and we need him to cover opposing tight ends. He is a good player and good players who are available are not easy to find at free safety. Give up only a third for Rosen. They want Murray so bad they are going to have to trade Rosen for cheap, so don't give up anything you don't have to. Cheap Rosen and a cheaper-than-Foles other veteran sounds like a nice combination to keep exiting talent and add more without betting the farm on a quarterback.
I don't think the Jaguars will trade free safety Tashaun Gipson because I don't think another team will trade for him, and I imagine the Jaguars will release him before Wednesday's start of the 2019 NFL League Year. I also wouldn't invest much time pondering scenarios in which the Jaguars pursue Rosen instead of Foles.
Emiel from Texas
Signing a Super Bowl Most Valuable Player at the most important position in football? That's so crazy it just might work!
Hey … one fer Foles.
Kenny from Section 408
Mr. O: What Jaguars jersey numbers have been retired or at least "put aside" and not in use? I don't see Foles picking No. 9, so maybe a No. 4 for Foles works.
The Jaguars don't officially "retire" numbers. The only quarterback number not typically issued is the No. 8 worn by Pride of the Jaguars quarterback Mark Brunell from 1995-2003. Other numbers not typically issued: 71 (left tackle Tony Boselli), 28 (running back Fred Taylor), 32 (Maurice Jones-Drew) and 82 (wide receiver Jimmy Smith). Center Brad Meester's No. 63 also hasn't been used since his retirement nor has kicker Josh Scobee's No. 10.
Neil from Jacksonville
John, if Rosen is available for a trade at the price of a third- or maybe low second-rounder, is this something you think the Jaguars should consider pursuing?
Yes, but I don't think they will pursue it.
Daniel from Jersey City, NJ
O-Man, if Brunell made three Pro Bowls then I clearly don't remember my teenage years as much as I thought I did. I liked Brunell, and remember he was so close to being a star, but he hurt his leg and never was the same again. Can you remind us how he did?
Brunell made the Pro Bowl following the 1996, 1997 and 1999 seasons and quarterbacked the Jaguars to the postseason from following the 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999 seasons. He was very good for a few seasons during that playoff run, and not as good when the team began to crumble around him because of salary-cap issues and overspending in free agency.
Chris from Space City, TX
Executive Vice President of Football Operations Tom Coughlin's Jaguars legacy should also include being the idiot that gave Bortles an ill-advised contract extension when there was absolutely no reason to. It wasn't like there was a real threat for another team seeking Blake Bungle's services. That mistake may have set this franchise back another 10 years. Add that to Coughlin's legacy please.
Sounds like you already have.
Josh from Salem, OH
Hey, Zone: What are the possibilities that the Jags trade back in the first round if they sign Foles? I'd really like us to trade back in the first round, acquire some more picks, and then take wide receiver Parris Campbell out of Ohio State. He has elite, game-breaking speed and it would change our offense in my opinion. Thoughts…
It's always difficult to predict the likelihood of trading back. It usually sounds good and is often a good idea. It's also often more difficult to find a trading partner than many people believe. Remember: When a team sees the benefit of trading back, other teams often just as clearly see the benefit of not trading back. So, yes … trading back seems like a good idea for the Jaguars this year. I don't expect doing so to be easy.
Ed from Danvers, MA
John: If we were to successfully send a third-round selection to Arizona for Rosen, would the fifth-year option still be there, or does it go away when his original drafting team lets him go for whatever reason?
The Jaguars would receive the fifth-year option in a trade. It stays with the contract.
Brian from Gainesville, FL
Big O, are the Jaguars just in too much cap trouble to consider looking at working something out to trade for Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown?
The Jaguars aren't in cap trouble, though they do need to make some roster moves to be under the cap by Wednesday's start of the 2019 NFL League Year. Trading for Brown would make their cap situation far more difficult, but that's not the only reason not to trade for Brown. He is a great player, but there are some great players who bring enough problems off the field to make greatness not worth it. Brown appears to be pushing toward being such a player.
Jeremy from Dodge City, KS
O-man, what do you think about this scenario for the Jags? They sign Foles and draft Tyree Jackson, he seems like he might be a pretty solid developmental player that they can pick up in the later rounds and use the first three-to-four rounds on other needs.
Depending on where Jackson goes in the draft, that sounds fine. I wouldn't get particularly excited about it because I don't get too excited about the chances of "developmental players" until I see "development," but it sounds fine.
Chris from Section 437
Why would Arizona trade Rosen for a third rounder after drafting Murray? It would seem that he would be good insurance on the bench in case Murray didn't work out or got hurt.
Sometimes, it's time to move on. That's true for all teams.
Marlin from Newberry, FL
Hi Zone, With the word on the street about Foles coming to Jacksonville, most of the latest polls have us taking a tight end or a wide receiver at No. 7. Hypothetically, if you had a choice between the best wide receiver in the draft and the best tight end in the draft and you had the seventh pick, who would you pick?
In a purely hypothetical, theoretical scenario I would say wide receiver because you usually would assume a wide receiver in the Top 10 would be a go-to, elite receiver. I don't sense that's the case this year, so this year I would take the best tight end.
Mark from Prescott, AZ
John, I have a hunch that the Jags are not going to sign Foles, though he would be an improvement in "game-on-the-line" situations. Instead, I think they'll trade for Rosen. He was in an awful situation last year. He does have a year's experience (although from the ground looking up). Much more upside (somebody thought he was worth No. 10). He would be low cost in draft equity and salary cost, and this would allow them to keep free safety Tashaun Gipson. Is this plausible??
Don't trust your hunches, Mark. They're not coming through.
