JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
John from Jacksonville
What are the pros and cons of the Jags exercising the fifth-year option with Fournette?
A quick explainer first: Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, teams may exercise a "fifth-year option" on first-round draft selections for the fifth year of their rookie contracts. Teams must exercise that option during the offseason before the player's fourth season, meaning the Jaguars must decide this offseason whether to pick up the option on running back Leonard Fournette. The pros for teams are that you have the rights to that player for a fifth year without having to commit to a multi-year extension; that often helps the team economically. Another pro is that you're not committed to the player's fifth year unless he is injured. The cons are that you're committed to that player for that fifth season – if he happens to incur an injury during his fourth season that doesn't allow him to play in the fifth season. The pros typically outweigh the cons, which means teams usually pick up the option if they're certain they like the player for the long haul.
Tom from Jacksonville
Fournette shouldn't be back if you believe Football Outsiders' ranking of 39 out of 45. He is no longer plays like a "bruising" or "powerful" back. You correctly noted that he is not elusive as he often is tackled by one defender. He probably peaked in college. Another draft mistake.
OK.
Ethanuel from South Florida
What exactly is a quarterback coach needed for? With all these chiefs, we may never lose.
Quarterbacks coaches work specifically with the position in the same way coaches at other positions do. As recently as the early 1990s, it was common for NFL teams to not have a "quarterbacks coach" – offensive coordinators often coached the position in addition to handling play-calling duties. Hiring a coach specifically for the position became more common after that, with the idea generally being that a quarterbacks coach is there to focus throughout the season on the quarterback's fundamentals and understanding the offense specific to the position as opposed to a more general approach taken by a coordinator. Is it overkill sometimes to have a separate position coach for quarterbacks? Yes, an argument could be made. But it wouldn't be the first time there had been overkill when it comes to NFL coaching staffs. And neither would it be the last.
Rog from St. Augustine, FL
Do the Jags or players pick up the room and board when in London for two weeks?
The Jaguars.
Tommy from Seward, Alaska
Do player playoff incentives count against the salary cap? The amount each player gets in the playoffs seems really low and I wonder why that still is. Do players typically get clauses in their contract that supplement this?
No, playoff pay doesn't count against the NFL's salary cap. Players earn shares that come from a league pool, and the shares typically go up each season. The Kansas City Chiefs, for example, received $124,000 per player for winning the Super Bowl and earned a total of $211,000 per player for their three postseason victories. That might be low for a highly-paid player, but for a rookie or second-year player … well, they're not turning it down. As for your final question … no, players typically don't get clauses in contracts based on playoff victories – though there are, of course, exceptions.
Alexander from Bartow
Will the Jaguars try to make a Super Bowl run in 2020?
Of course.
Sean from Jacksonville
The NFL set a dangerous precedent by releasing Myles Garrett a bit early from a now infamous "indefinite suspension." Kind of leaves the door wide open for bigger asinine fights with no real threat of an unspecified layoff. Kudos to protecting players! (Not really)
It's impossible to release someone "early" from an indefinite suspension because by definition there is no length. Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett missed the final six games of the 2020 NFL seasons during his indefinite suspension. That's close to half the season, and it cost him more than $1 million. That's not a mild punishment.
Rob from Orange Park, FL
I can only imagine what our fan base would be saying if Jaguars Owner Shad Khan had been personally deciding which players to draft and acquire through free agency and overriding the coach on game-day decisions. I doubt they would be applauding Khan for his "focus on football."
True that.
Genuineja13
So, GM Dave thought it was a good idea to pay Bortles $15 million not to play for the team, but is hesitant to pay defensive end Calais Campbell a like amount to play for the team?
The Jaguars currently must figure out how to best structure their roster/contracts for the 2020 season. What was necessary one season often doesn't make sense for the next season. Having former quarterback Blake Bortles' dead money on the cap wasn't good for the 2019 season, but it has nothing to do with how they must approach this offseason.
Matthew from Jacksonville
What do you think about this idea? What about trading Foles to the Raiders for Carr? Or, Foles for Cam Newton? A change of scenery might be good for all three players. I think the Raiders in particular might be interested in such a trade. Foles might flourish in Las Vegas. The Raiders have the offensive line and tight end that would help elevate Foles' game. Carr is a talented quarterback who might just need a fresh start. Since the Jags are stuck with Foles' contract why not think outside the box and do a trade that benefits everyone?
Trade machi-i-i-i-ii-i-ine!!!!
Sean from Jacksonville
Not bad. Two former head coaches now on the team. I wonder who was the driving force to get that deal done.
Head Coach Doug Marrone led the hiring process and made the decisions that resulted in the Jaguars hiring quarterbacks. That makes him the driving force for the decision.
Adam from St. Augustine, FL
So, we're just supposed to automatically believe everything the owner says? They say winning is first and foremost. Well, where is the tangible evidence? London is for Jacksonville. Again, where is the evidence? There has been nothing, but the fans suck and the city sucks. There has been nothing but London-is-so-great. We need something to believe in and it's just not there.
It has occurred to me in recent days it's near time to ease off the London discussion for a time here in the O-Zone – not because anything close to all fans understand or trust Khan's intentions as much as I feel I've reached the point where there's little more for me to write or say along these lines. Fans who don't believe or trust Khan and the Jaguars are going to feel that way, and fans who understand what's going on already understand it. I have written and said for more than a week the reasoning behind a second game in London, and I have explained best I can that the team sees the revenue from those games as a way to maintain revenue for the short-term until the Lot J project is complete. I have written and said that the team at that point will assess whether it can reduce the London games, with the hope being that Lot J and the Shipyards will produce enough revenue to do so. I have written and said that the idea for the Jaguars is not to move to London; the idea is to strengthen the Jaguars here for the long term. I have written and said that the Jaguars must look at the big picture because it's their responsibility to do so, and that they understand that fans aren't going to love the short-term loss of games. I have written and said that while all the aforementioned is true, losing a second home game – even temporarily – is traumatic enough that fans are going to be angry no matter the explanation. I have written and said that fans are also going to distrust ownership in this situation, and conspiracy theories and cries of greed are going to run rampant. Bottom line: No NFL owner would believe in Jacksonville as much as Khan believes in Jacksonville, and without Khan I honestly don't believe the NFL would be in Jacksonville. He believes in the city and the fans and believes it can work here. His actions are to make that work. Believe that or don't, Alan … I can't control it. I do know there aren't many more ways to say or write it. I don't know if we'll be able to shut down the discussion completely, and I don't know if we should shut it down completely. I do get the sense it's at least time to try. At least for now.
Ken from Jacksonville
I think you should end everyone of you replies with "I have spoken".
I would prefer "so sayeth the genius" – for obvious reasons.
