March 11, 2025 • 22 mins
J.P. Shadrick, John Oehser and Kainani Stevens discuss the latest news regarding Jaguars' activity during free agency. The trio discuses confirmed moves such as the Mitch Morse retirement and the Evan Engram release as well as speculation of who we are rumored to bring in for Free Agency including Patrick Mekhar and Robert Hainsey to name a few. Stay tuned all week to hear more breaking news from 2025 Free Agency week.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:17):
Welcome in to dag Exam. It's free agency week.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
I'm kin Nannie Stevens, Brent Sexton, and John Oser are
with me today. We're seeing a ton of movement already,
maybe not the moves that we're used to seeing though
here in Jacksonville. So let's start out with our big
things today. Our first big thing is goodbye. So to
make way for some of these open roster positions, the
team released a lot of players last week.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Some of them big names.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
We kind of maybe saw the writing on the wall
with Christian Kirk or Evan Ingram, Brian but these are
some names that we've known with this team, been very
synonymous with this team for the last couple of years.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
And now the faces are gone.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Well, free agency brings and free agency takes away, and
they decided John that they could do more with the
cap room the Christian Kirk and Evan Ingram afforded them.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
You know, you saw roughly twenty million dollars.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Between those two, both of whom finished last season on
need you reserve Kirk who's missed thirteen games in the
last two years, and Ingram didn't have a very good
season to boot.
Speaker 4 (01:09):
So when you looked at it.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Coming in and sweeping things out anyway with the front
office gave them the ability to do the same thing
with some guys that we've come to know and appreciate.
Speaker 5 (01:19):
You Look, it was a sad week last week because
I think everybody in here loves covering Christian Kirk and
Evan Ingram and bear themselves to fans. But I think
what Brian said in the middle there about the health
of both players. At some point, when you reach your
eighth or ninth year, percentages are you're not going to
get long term healthier. And I think Kristian Kirk, especially
(01:42):
not finishing the last two seasons and then with the
high cap number, there's no doubt the Jaguars have been
better and Trevor Uns has been better with him on
the field. But when you're not in the field and
new people are coming in, then business decisions have to
get made, and you know, nim is taken out of
it when the people coming in don't know you. So
(02:03):
I think a lot of that played into it. You know,
would I have made those two moves considering the age
of the player and the health as.
Speaker 6 (02:12):
Much as I would have regretted it, I think you
would have had.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
To tough one all around, for sure. Now we do
want to say hello to our nine reported free agents
that are gonna be coming.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
Things will get.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Finalized later in the week, John, But a lot of
movement yesterday.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
What was kind of a trend that you were seeing.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
We're going to talk a little bit more about this later,
but what were they focusing on?
Speaker 5 (02:30):
Yeah, when you've got nine guys, it's kind of hard
to pick one trend in the NFL in so many
different positions.
Speaker 6 (02:35):
But I think Brian, it was a functional day.
Speaker 5 (02:39):
Meaning when you're in baseball or football you I mean
or basketball, say you can change your.
Speaker 6 (02:47):
Roster with one or two players.
Speaker 5 (02:49):
In the NFL, you've got twenty two guys and you've
got fifty.
Speaker 6 (02:52):
Three you need.
Speaker 5 (02:53):
And when you're coming in and you're changing a regime,
you can't change it just changing.
Speaker 6 (02:58):
Out one guy they brought in.
Speaker 5 (03:01):
I think they felt like they had to get lined
up before the draft, meaning be able to have guys
in the starting lineup. I think they felt like they
needed guys who could start, who were functional. It wasn't
a splash day, which thank goodness, because I've seen too
many splash days around here where you look at the
pool and it's empty.
Speaker 6 (03:18):
So I think it was a good day.
Speaker 5 (03:21):
I think it was a solid day, even if it
wasn't a terribly exciting day.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
When you work with words, what do you always say,
words are your work?
Speaker 4 (03:29):
Something like something like that. Functional was the first word.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
That popped into my mind yesterday as I looked at
that list. You're able now to line up and the
drivers clearly believe that they got better in the middle
of the offensive line, which quite frankly just hasn't been
very good. They haven't been able to convert on third
and short in the last two years. I think you
can look and say that they got better in the
secondary right, maybe a little older, but the corner from
(03:53):
Dallas and the safety from Houston are guys that you
can line up with and play in this scheme that
they all are bringing in here. They if they did
nothing else, they brought their guys in here. And I
thought that James Gladstone and Liam Cohen both talked about
the kind of player that would make them better just
walking through the door before they stepped on the field,
(04:14):
the attitude they would bring into the building, the way
they would go about their work, the way that they
would compete. They wanted to bring culture builders in here.
And you think of those guys as being the Christian
Kirks and the Evan Ingrams and the big playmakers, but
they're also the Hunter Longs, right, the reported tight end
from Los Angeles, a guy that has connections to Gladstone
(04:35):
or Hainsey, the Court or the center from Tampa, who
has connections to Liam Cohen. Guys, they know, guys they
can count on to help them with the scheme, to
help them with the culture. So from that perspective, I
would agree they got better yesterday.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
How these guys pan out of her time, John, I
think that remains to be seen.
Speaker 5 (04:53):
Well, they better not have much time. And meaning this,
you did sign older guys, I mean, or you acquired
older guys and that's signed. Yet there's some ninth year guys,
tenth thier guys in there, or maybe not tenth but
a ninth year. So you're not thinking that this is
a class that's going to be playing frontline football for
(05:16):
you in twenty twenty seven, I think what year it is?
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Right?
Speaker 6 (05:18):
But so these are If this isn't a.
Speaker 5 (05:22):
Transition class to a draft and developed team, then it's
a bad class, but clearly that's what it is.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
We have twenty draft picks kai over the next two years,
and with the trade of Christian Kirk, you have twenty
one in the next two years. So if these guys
are still core players, chances are you haven't drafted very
well in the next two years. It's just very clear
that what they wanted was to bring in guys to
help them build the foundation of what they want going forward,
and from that sense, it appears it was a really
(05:48):
productive day.
Speaker 4 (05:50):
Absolutely that leads.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Us into our final big thing, which is Florida Ceiling.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
We talk a lot about star players coming in raising
the ceiling. You know what their ceiling might be, but
now we're talking about raising the floor.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
What's the minimum? What's expected out there? Brian?
Speaker 2 (06:01):
When we talk about new regimes coming in and kind
of setting the standard, I feel like they're trying to
get their guys in here and get that groundwork lead
so everybody knows what to expect when they come in.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Well, for those of us who were here in the building,
it's hard not to get past the fact that there
simply wasn't a winning culture in this building. When you
walk through the locker room or out onto the practice field.
Not the guys last year or the last two years
weren't working hard, but you just didn't feel like there
was a strong standard of excellence. So I think that's
(06:30):
what they're really starting to build here is how they're
going to compete each day, how they're going to work
in the classrooms, how they're going to work on the
practice field, how they're going to conduct themselves in everything
from the meeting room to how they travel. That's what
they really look at as what the baseline is, Hey,
if you can't meet this standard, this is the way
that we do things in a Liam Cohen, Tony Basselli,
(06:54):
James Gladstone.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
Administration, yea where sometimes words are your work.
Speaker 5 (07:02):
I think the biggest thing, if you had to take
anything away, I think Florida ceiling. I think they got
more functional and capable in the secondary for a year
or two.
Speaker 6 (07:16):
And I think they.
Speaker 5 (07:17):
Feel like they got more physical up front on the
offensive line. If those two things are true, then I
think you raised that floor. Look, everything in this franchise
is about Trevor Lawrence. You got a fast receiver to
help Trevor Lawrence, and you got guys to keep Trevor
Lawrence from being pressured in the pocket, they hope and
(07:38):
have a better running game around him. If Trevor improves,
then this franchise is moving up. If he doesn't, then
it's what it has been.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
You know, at one more point in Florida, ceiling is
now all of a sudden, you have filled enough gaps
with guys that you trust that you can go into
Draft day and you can take the player that's rated
highest on your board, whether that's an interior offensive lineman
which is not a sexy pick obviously at number five,
or whether you're looking for someone on the secondary. You
have the ability now to do what you want on
(08:08):
draft Day.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
Absolutely setting ourselves up for April. Stay with us here.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
We're going to talk a little bit about the holes
that Christian Kirk and Evan Ingram have left and who
we think might replace them. Who welcome you back into
jag zam an eventful week. Last week eventful as well
(08:34):
as we talked a little bit about some of the
outgoing names obviously synonymous with the team, Evan Ingram, Christian Kirk.
A lot of us here in the building very fond
of both of those guys. Also, Mitch Morse retiring from
the NFL. So those are a couple key positions I
was thinking about when it comes to mind, I understand
the salary reasons why two of them were lego, but
what kind of holes do they leave on this team?
Speaker 6 (08:55):
Right?
Speaker 2 (08:55):
So, when you look going forward, a lot of free
agency signings on the offensive line, But is Robert Hainsey
at center a replacement for long term John or is
this like as we've talked about, maybe drafting someone and
then kind.
Speaker 6 (09:09):
Of where are you looking at this? I don't really know.
Speaker 5 (09:11):
In the NFL these days, I don't know what long
term means. I'm not making fun of the question. It's
hard to say he's long term. But I do think
they feel like from a power blocking, from a run blocking,
from a physicality, tone setting point of view, A I
(09:32):
think they would have been fine with Morse coming back,
but I don't necessarily think that it was a soul
crushing event when he informed them that he wasn't not
anything a knock on him, but it enabled them to
change two spots rather than just one, and didn't it
feel like you needed some sort of tone change.
Speaker 6 (09:51):
I don't necessarily know.
Speaker 5 (09:52):
That Hainesy's that much better than Morse, but he's different
in the sense that he's a physical he's a brawling
kind of guy, and McCary is the same sort of way.
They feel like they're going to be better in the
run game short yardage, so I think that's probably the
biggest storyline in terms of switching. I think he switched
tone of the offensive line very much.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Ran Is it important that they brought in another experience center? Obviously,
Mitch Moore's brought a lot of respect understanding of football.
I think, especially for Trevor to have someone like that
at center, was that important?
Speaker 4 (10:23):
Well, I think so.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
But I think specifically Kai the fact that he's experienced
with Liam Cohen right, that he understands the scheme because
they're going to run some different things up front. And
Hainsey is a guy who can get the offensive line
and the quarterback on the same page, which is why
they wanted to bring Morse in last year, to make
sure that he would be able to bring a cohesion
that a young quarterback, still a young quarterback needs.
Speaker 4 (10:45):
The Hainsey thing is interesting.
Speaker 3 (10:46):
To me, and McCary in particular, those were the two
guys I was most excited about because as we talked
about John, this team could not convert third down and
short in twenty three or twenty four. And when you
think about what Liam Cohen did last year, the most
impressive thing that he did in Tampa was take a
running game that was near the bottom of the league
in twenty twenty three and move them into the top
five in twenty twenty four. Think about what that does
(11:08):
for Trevor Lawrence if he's got play action available to him.
So you go bring those two guys in and have
confidence in them, Maybe draft a guy even at five
that you believe can contribute on.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
The offensive line.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
Well, you've gotten a lot better in the running game,
which I think is pivotal.
Speaker 5 (11:23):
Yeah, the major reason Hainesy was a target was what
Brian said, familiar with the offense and Cohen.
Speaker 6 (11:31):
They know that he'll be.
Speaker 5 (11:32):
Able to be a second set eyes in the field
for Trevor Lawrence. So that's mammoth and they think they're
a better run blocking team. As far as the wide
receiver Diami Brown, they feel like they now have two
guys who can take the top off a defense. And
they were worried going into this do we have enough
(11:54):
guys at receiver. They didn't, as Bryance earlier in the
show a big thing about yesterday. They wanted to get
out of a situation where they felt like they had
to go get player B or player A.
Speaker 6 (12:06):
In the first round of the draft. They do won't
have to force their hand in the draft.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
You look at it. I'm sorry, in the rub you
look at it. There's the big receiver from Arizona, and
I don't know where they've got him. I'm just throwing
it out there. If he's the highest rated guy on
the board, you know, you might say, well, we need
more help on the defensive line because you know that
guy at Michigan's really good. We need a cornerback, right,
But if he's the highest rated guy on.
Speaker 4 (12:26):
Your board, go get him.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
We always talk about best player available versus need man.
If you're in a position to take the best player
available at number five, you got a chance to really
upgrade your team.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
We talk about the scene in terms of Trevor Lawrence
as he goes, this team will go when you're taking
away two of his you know, we've called them safety
blankets in Christian Kirk and Evan Ingram, I feel like
this might be a growth opportunity, right, because when you
have your guys that you trust and you know where
they're going to be, it's hard to get away from
that at times. But Brian, we know what Brian Thomas
Junior can do in a rookie year, what he's going
(12:57):
to be able to do going forward is going to
be even better. Will this give an opportunity for Trevor
to branch out a bit?
Speaker 4 (13:03):
Well, Listen, he didn't. Trevor had had limited time with
Brian Thomas. You know, made a couple of big throws.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
The one against the Colts the one in London against
the Patriots are two that stand out. He's going to
put himself in a position with Brian Thomas, he's going
to become his new security blanket, right. And then Brenton
Strange really came on again after Trevor was hurt last year.
I think the transition to those two guys will be
easier than some people might imagine because they're really talented
and we'll make the quarterbacks job a whole lot easier.
Speaker 5 (13:31):
Look again on to press, but I loved what Ingram
and Kirk did for this franchise for three years. They
were four and thirteen offense last year. Evan Ingram's yards
per reception were way down last year. He's caught a
lot of passes in the last couple of years, but
they have not been downfield passes. They've then passes that
(13:51):
sort of I don't say anybody could have done it,
but it was not special plays.
Speaker 6 (13:56):
He had one touchdown last year.
Speaker 5 (13:59):
Brian Thomas Junior in twenty twenty five, if he plays
LEVETD in twenty twenty four, is worth the combination of
Kirk and Ingram in their prime, meaning he's that good, right,
So I think some of it is there's a familiarity
with Kirk and Ingram. Fans loved them and got used
to them.
Speaker 6 (14:18):
I think when you look at.
Speaker 5 (14:19):
Where they've been, if both these players were at the
peak of their career, peak production for the Jaguars, then
I think this would be a bad move. But they've
been hurt the last couple of years. They're now going
into year ten and year nine and you're moving into
a new regime. Let's not paint this as they're losing
two All Pro players. I love these guys, but that's
(14:43):
not what they were the last year or so.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
We got nine new faces headed's Jacksonville this week, So
we're going to talk a little bit more in depth
about that after the break about some of the new
players come in to town. Move the freight, Move the freight,
(15:06):
Magellan Transport, What is the coolest office base in Jacksonville.
You can apply online at Magellanlogistics dot com.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
Welcome back in.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
It's gonna be a busy week. We're gonna get to
meet some of these new faces. But nine reported signings.
Of course, things become official later in the week, but
it's a lot of names. Now, we've been busy. This
scene has been busy in free agency before, but maybe
a little more money spent, a little more flash there.
This looks like a lot of setting the standard. And John,
I'm seeing a lot of you know, Vikings, like people
that they're familiar with, the Bucks, the you know, the
(15:36):
rams like these are teams that and players that the
coaches are familiar with.
Speaker 5 (15:40):
Well, Nick Mullens is obviously he's he's been with Yudinsky,
so he knows how this offense works. You want that
guy in the room with Trevor because when they're looking
at film, Mullins can presumably just say, hey, well that's
what you do on this play and you know, let's
move on. You're not having to google it, right, So,
and overall.
Speaker 6 (16:01):
That was a huge theme for some of them.
Speaker 5 (16:03):
I think it's important to note that Hainesy with the
Bucks started its center in twenty two and twenty three
for them did not start this past year because they
drafted a guy number twenty six overall, but he has
versatility as well as the ability to start at center.
I think overall, Brian that familiarity, bringing in guys who
understand what's being done.
Speaker 6 (16:26):
You know, it's the theme of the day. I don't
know how you get around it.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
No, And you look at the tight ends, right, I
think that's indicative of where their focus was, the offensive
line and the tight ends, because both the tight end
from the Rams and the tight end from the Vikings
are familiar faces and they're blocking tight ends. These are
not guys who are going to catch a hundred passes
or even fifty, but they understand the scheme and the
way that the Jaguars are going to have to get
(16:51):
this running game moving. And so they went and found
two guys. They fit from a cost perspective, they fit
from a scheme perspective, and their transitions to twenty twenty
seven twenty twenty eight. They'll help this team get where
it wants to go.
Speaker 5 (17:04):
And I think which shouldn't be lost the nickelback Lewis
from the Cowboys. If there was a splash signing, he
was probably at this. If you looked at this secondary
going into yesterday, Tyson Campbell's a starter.
Speaker 6 (17:22):
Yeah, you know, there's really nowhere else to go with it.
Speaker 5 (17:26):
So Jarion Jones, I think we'll have a chance in
this to fit in. I think Dewey Wingard will have
a role depending on the draft, but Murray from the Texans,
Lewis from the Cowboys. This was about being able to
see what your secondary was because before yesterday there were gaps.
Speaker 4 (17:47):
Well, it's a great point.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
Antonio Johnson's a guy that was drafted by the previous
regime and he has clearly a physical skill set. But
how does he fit in this news scheme and what
do they.
Speaker 4 (17:57):
Think of him?
Speaker 6 (17:58):
TBD?
Speaker 3 (17:58):
Yeah, that Monterrek Brown is the guy who's been around here,
made some big plays like the one in New Orleans
not long ago, and yet you don't know what they
think of him or whether he can play the way that.
Speaker 6 (18:08):
They want to.
Speaker 5 (18:09):
Yeah, the guys beyond Tyson who were here, I'm not
throwing them out, Yeah, but they are.
Speaker 6 (18:15):
Going to have to prove where they fit.
Speaker 5 (18:18):
You know, there's no pencil in yet on any of
those guys.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
For me, one of the names I was excited to
see was Diomie Brown. We watched the Commander's playoff game
together John against the Lions, and he had a great
playoff run for them, And just to have that speed
when we talk about Brian Thomas, clearly that's what they're
going with right now. I'm sure they'll fill in the
gaps elsewhere in the wide receiver group, but to have
those targets for Trevor exciting to see how they build
around it.
Speaker 5 (18:43):
Well, you know, if you just took his overall body
at work for four years, you wouldn't be that excited
if you took the last half of this last year.
I'm it's sacrileged to say this. I'm not gonna say it,
but I gotta say it because we're on the air.
Speaker 6 (18:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (18:59):
Keenan McCardell, remember was peaking with the Browns and then
they went and got him. Nobody really knew that much
about him and then all of a sudden he was ready.
Speaker 6 (19:07):
Boy.
Speaker 5 (19:08):
So there's that element of you, you like having this
sort of potential of this sort of speed.
Speaker 6 (19:15):
I think Keenan should be on the wall. So I'm
not gonna compare him to that you will be someday.
Speaker 5 (19:18):
But you know what I'm getting at right the ascending player,
this could be one of those diamonds. And they're rough,
and again they really feel like they now have two
players he can get deep.
Speaker 3 (19:29):
Keena was a twelfth round draft picker Washington who you know,
worked his way through the NFL, through the Bears and
the Browns and the Ravens and finally, you know, put
his feet on the ground here and became a player.
That's the same thing. Look, there's receivers everywhere because this
is a passing league. College football has become a passing league,
and not everybody's ready to step on the field, like
Brian Thomas Junior to be a star right of the gate.
And this guy, well, over a couple of years, it
(19:51):
appears he's really polished his skills and he's got something
that Keenan didn't have, which is that explosive speed.
Speaker 6 (19:58):
And Keenan also started his career with Washington.
Speaker 4 (20:02):
So here we go.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
But to Keenan's defense, Keenan was the toughest sun and
you ever met. I watched Eric Turner cut him in
half twice on back to back plays and him get
up and keep moving.
Speaker 5 (20:15):
So I mean Keenan, I mean, if I had to
put some man on the wall right now, he's not there.
Speaker 4 (20:20):
He belongs.
Speaker 6 (20:21):
He's that guy.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
Absolutely, stay with us. We'll tell you what's coming up
the rest of the week and what we've got cooking
behind the scenes as well. The exam brought to you
by Fresh from Florida.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
It's always in season.
Speaker 7 (20:49):
Everything you can read some of the stuff actual day shot,
taking a chance, looking forward to be see.
Speaker 6 (21:03):
You know, big upside like now parac Base.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
We want they're going to be here.
Speaker 7 (21:09):
Right hey.
Speaker 6 (21:10):
One of the trademarks of our leadership group is that
when there's an opportunity to be bold, we won't play.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Certainly, we're bold with some of their decisions right out
of the gate, and we're going to see a lot
more changes coming up this week with free agency and
then going into the draft, and the hunt is going
to be there for all of it. We're really excited
with this new regime, unprecedented access, a lot of great
stuff coming together, and the hunt will be back with you.
Speaker 3 (21:40):
So that's what you get when you go as young
as they did. They understand the dynamic of I mean
they've they've lived, they've grown up with NFL films, and
I mean it wasn't that the access wasn't there in
the early years because those coaches were so secret. Of
these guys, they're grown up with cameras everywhere, and so
it's they're used to it.
Speaker 4 (21:56):
It's good for the fans.
Speaker 5 (21:57):
Credits all three of them, Tiny Beseillar for understanding the
import to that. But to me, credit to Gladstone and
Cohen for this. When you're coming into a regime, it's
easy to say you want to be transparent. There's some
pressure on you and you're coming into the new world
to still say, okay, you know what you can see
as we go in this Not every executive and coach
(22:20):
would do that. So I guess thanks to them for
the fans for that.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
A lot of good stuff to come. We're gonna hear
from some of these free agents later in the week.
So we're back with you on jag Zam next week.
We'll be able to weigh in on that have a
good week.
Welcome in to dag Exam. It's free agency week.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
I'm kin Nannie Stevens, Brent Sexton, and John Oser are
with me today. We're seeing a ton of movement already,
maybe not the moves that we're used to seeing though
here in Jacksonville. So let's start out with our big
things today. Our first big thing is goodbye. So to
make way for some of these open roster positions, the
team released a lot of players last week.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Some of them big names.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
We kind of maybe saw the writing on the wall
with Christian Kirk or Evan Ingram, Brian but these are
some names that we've known with this team, been very
synonymous with this team for the last couple of years.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
And now the faces are gone.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Well, free agency brings and free agency takes away, and
they decided John that they could do more with the
cap room the Christian Kirk and Evan Ingram afforded them.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
You know, you saw roughly twenty million dollars.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Between those two, both of whom finished last season on
need you reserve Kirk who's missed thirteen games in the
last two years, and Ingram didn't have a very good
season to boot.
Speaker 4 (01:09):
So when you looked at it.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Coming in and sweeping things out anyway with the front
office gave them the ability to do the same thing
with some guys that we've come to know and appreciate.
Speaker 5 (01:19):
You Look, it was a sad week last week because
I think everybody in here loves covering Christian Kirk and
Evan Ingram and bear themselves to fans. But I think
what Brian said in the middle there about the health
of both players. At some point, when you reach your
eighth or ninth year, percentages are you're not going to
get long term healthier. And I think Kristian Kirk, especially
(01:42):
not finishing the last two seasons and then with the
high cap number, there's no doubt the Jaguars have been
better and Trevor Uns has been better with him on
the field. But when you're not in the field and
new people are coming in, then business decisions have to
get made, and you know, nim is taken out of
it when the people coming in don't know you. So
(02:03):
I think a lot of that played into it. You know,
would I have made those two moves considering the age
of the player and the health as.
Speaker 6 (02:12):
Much as I would have regretted it, I think you
would have had.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
To tough one all around, for sure. Now we do
want to say hello to our nine reported free agents
that are gonna be coming.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
Things will get.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Finalized later in the week, John, But a lot of
movement yesterday.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
What was kind of a trend that you were seeing.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
We're going to talk a little bit more about this later,
but what were they focusing on?
Speaker 5 (02:30):
Yeah, when you've got nine guys, it's kind of hard
to pick one trend in the NFL in so many
different positions.
Speaker 6 (02:35):
But I think Brian, it was a functional day.
Speaker 5 (02:39):
Meaning when you're in baseball or football you I mean
or basketball, say you can change your.
Speaker 6 (02:47):
Roster with one or two players.
Speaker 5 (02:49):
In the NFL, you've got twenty two guys and you've
got fifty.
Speaker 6 (02:52):
Three you need.
Speaker 5 (02:53):
And when you're coming in and you're changing a regime,
you can't change it just changing.
Speaker 6 (02:58):
Out one guy they brought in.
Speaker 5 (03:01):
I think they felt like they had to get lined
up before the draft, meaning be able to have guys
in the starting lineup. I think they felt like they
needed guys who could start, who were functional. It wasn't
a splash day, which thank goodness, because I've seen too
many splash days around here where you look at the
pool and it's empty.
Speaker 6 (03:18):
So I think it was a good day.
Speaker 5 (03:21):
I think it was a solid day, even if it
wasn't a terribly exciting day.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
When you work with words, what do you always say,
words are your work?
Speaker 4 (03:29):
Something like something like that. Functional was the first word.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
That popped into my mind yesterday as I looked at
that list. You're able now to line up and the
drivers clearly believe that they got better in the middle
of the offensive line, which quite frankly just hasn't been
very good. They haven't been able to convert on third
and short in the last two years. I think you
can look and say that they got better in the
secondary right, maybe a little older, but the corner from
(03:53):
Dallas and the safety from Houston are guys that you
can line up with and play in this scheme that
they all are bringing in here. They if they did
nothing else, they brought their guys in here. And I
thought that James Gladstone and Liam Cohen both talked about
the kind of player that would make them better just
walking through the door before they stepped on the field,
(04:14):
the attitude they would bring into the building, the way
they would go about their work, the way that they
would compete. They wanted to bring culture builders in here.
And you think of those guys as being the Christian
Kirks and the Evan Ingrams and the big playmakers, but
they're also the Hunter Longs, right, the reported tight end
from Los Angeles, a guy that has connections to Gladstone
(04:35):
or Hainsey, the Court or the center from Tampa, who
has connections to Liam Cohen. Guys, they know, guys they
can count on to help them with the scheme, to
help them with the culture. So from that perspective, I
would agree they got better yesterday.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
How these guys pan out of her time, John, I
think that remains to be seen.
Speaker 5 (04:53):
Well, they better not have much time. And meaning this,
you did sign older guys, I mean, or you acquired
older guys and that's signed. Yet there's some ninth year guys,
tenth thier guys in there, or maybe not tenth but
a ninth year. So you're not thinking that this is
a class that's going to be playing frontline football for
(05:16):
you in twenty twenty seven, I think what year it is?
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Right?
Speaker 6 (05:18):
But so these are If this isn't a.
Speaker 5 (05:22):
Transition class to a draft and developed team, then it's
a bad class, but clearly that's what it is.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
We have twenty draft picks kai over the next two years,
and with the trade of Christian Kirk, you have twenty
one in the next two years. So if these guys
are still core players, chances are you haven't drafted very
well in the next two years. It's just very clear
that what they wanted was to bring in guys to
help them build the foundation of what they want going forward,
and from that sense, it appears it was a really
(05:48):
productive day.
Speaker 4 (05:50):
Absolutely that leads.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Us into our final big thing, which is Florida Ceiling.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
We talk a lot about star players coming in raising
the ceiling. You know what their ceiling might be, but
now we're talking about raising the floor.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
What's the minimum? What's expected out there? Brian?
Speaker 2 (06:01):
When we talk about new regimes coming in and kind
of setting the standard, I feel like they're trying to
get their guys in here and get that groundwork lead
so everybody knows what to expect when they come in.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Well, for those of us who were here in the building,
it's hard not to get past the fact that there
simply wasn't a winning culture in this building. When you
walk through the locker room or out onto the practice field.
Not the guys last year or the last two years
weren't working hard, but you just didn't feel like there
was a strong standard of excellence. So I think that's
(06:30):
what they're really starting to build here is how they're
going to compete each day, how they're going to work
in the classrooms, how they're going to work on the
practice field, how they're going to conduct themselves in everything
from the meeting room to how they travel. That's what
they really look at as what the baseline is, Hey,
if you can't meet this standard, this is the way
that we do things in a Liam Cohen, Tony Basselli,
(06:54):
James Gladstone.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
Administration, yea where sometimes words are your work.
Speaker 5 (07:02):
I think the biggest thing, if you had to take
anything away, I think Florida ceiling. I think they got
more functional and capable in the secondary for a year
or two.
Speaker 6 (07:16):
And I think they.
Speaker 5 (07:17):
Feel like they got more physical up front on the
offensive line. If those two things are true, then I
think you raised that floor. Look, everything in this franchise
is about Trevor Lawrence. You got a fast receiver to
help Trevor Lawrence, and you got guys to keep Trevor
Lawrence from being pressured in the pocket, they hope and
(07:38):
have a better running game around him. If Trevor improves,
then this franchise is moving up. If he doesn't, then
it's what it has been.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
You know, at one more point in Florida, ceiling is
now all of a sudden, you have filled enough gaps
with guys that you trust that you can go into
Draft day and you can take the player that's rated
highest on your board, whether that's an interior offensive lineman
which is not a sexy pick obviously at number five,
or whether you're looking for someone on the secondary. You
have the ability now to do what you want on
(08:08):
draft Day.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
Absolutely setting ourselves up for April. Stay with us here.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
We're going to talk a little bit about the holes
that Christian Kirk and Evan Ingram have left and who
we think might replace them. Who welcome you back into
jag zam an eventful week. Last week eventful as well
(08:34):
as we talked a little bit about some of the
outgoing names obviously synonymous with the team, Evan Ingram, Christian Kirk.
A lot of us here in the building very fond
of both of those guys. Also, Mitch Morse retiring from
the NFL. So those are a couple key positions I
was thinking about when it comes to mind, I understand
the salary reasons why two of them were lego, but
what kind of holes do they leave on this team?
Speaker 6 (08:55):
Right?
Speaker 2 (08:55):
So, when you look going forward, a lot of free
agency signings on the offensive line, But is Robert Hainsey
at center a replacement for long term John or is
this like as we've talked about, maybe drafting someone and
then kind.
Speaker 6 (09:09):
Of where are you looking at this? I don't really know.
Speaker 5 (09:11):
In the NFL these days, I don't know what long
term means. I'm not making fun of the question. It's
hard to say he's long term. But I do think
they feel like from a power blocking, from a run blocking,
from a physicality, tone setting point of view, A I
(09:32):
think they would have been fine with Morse coming back,
but I don't necessarily think that it was a soul
crushing event when he informed them that he wasn't not
anything a knock on him, but it enabled them to
change two spots rather than just one, and didn't it
feel like you needed some sort of tone change.
Speaker 6 (09:51):
I don't necessarily know.
Speaker 5 (09:52):
That Hainesy's that much better than Morse, but he's different
in the sense that he's a physical he's a brawling
kind of guy, and McCary is the same sort of way.
They feel like they're going to be better in the
run game short yardage, so I think that's probably the
biggest storyline in terms of switching. I think he switched
tone of the offensive line very much.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Ran Is it important that they brought in another experience center? Obviously,
Mitch Moore's brought a lot of respect understanding of football.
I think, especially for Trevor to have someone like that
at center, was that important?
Speaker 4 (10:23):
Well, I think so.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
But I think specifically Kai the fact that he's experienced
with Liam Cohen right, that he understands the scheme because
they're going to run some different things up front. And
Hainsey is a guy who can get the offensive line
and the quarterback on the same page, which is why
they wanted to bring Morse in last year, to make
sure that he would be able to bring a cohesion
that a young quarterback, still a young quarterback needs.
Speaker 4 (10:45):
The Hainsey thing is interesting.
Speaker 3 (10:46):
To me, and McCary in particular, those were the two
guys I was most excited about because as we talked
about John, this team could not convert third down and
short in twenty three or twenty four. And when you
think about what Liam Cohen did last year, the most
impressive thing that he did in Tampa was take a
running game that was near the bottom of the league
in twenty twenty three and move them into the top
five in twenty twenty four. Think about what that does
(11:08):
for Trevor Lawrence if he's got play action available to him.
So you go bring those two guys in and have
confidence in them, Maybe draft a guy even at five
that you believe can contribute on.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
The offensive line.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
Well, you've gotten a lot better in the running game,
which I think is pivotal.
Speaker 5 (11:23):
Yeah, the major reason Hainesy was a target was what
Brian said, familiar with the offense and Cohen.
Speaker 6 (11:31):
They know that he'll be.
Speaker 5 (11:32):
Able to be a second set eyes in the field
for Trevor Lawrence. So that's mammoth and they think they're
a better run blocking team. As far as the wide
receiver Diami Brown, they feel like they now have two
guys who can take the top off a defense. And
they were worried going into this do we have enough
(11:54):
guys at receiver. They didn't, as Bryance earlier in the
show a big thing about yesterday. They wanted to get
out of a situation where they felt like they had
to go get player B or player A.
Speaker 6 (12:06):
In the first round of the draft. They do won't
have to force their hand in the draft.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
You look at it. I'm sorry, in the rub you
look at it. There's the big receiver from Arizona, and
I don't know where they've got him. I'm just throwing
it out there. If he's the highest rated guy on
the board, you know, you might say, well, we need
more help on the defensive line because you know that
guy at Michigan's really good. We need a cornerback, right,
But if he's the highest rated guy on.
Speaker 4 (12:26):
Your board, go get him.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
We always talk about best player available versus need man.
If you're in a position to take the best player
available at number five, you got a chance to really
upgrade your team.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
We talk about the scene in terms of Trevor Lawrence
as he goes, this team will go when you're taking
away two of his you know, we've called them safety
blankets in Christian Kirk and Evan Ingram, I feel like
this might be a growth opportunity, right, because when you
have your guys that you trust and you know where
they're going to be, it's hard to get away from
that at times. But Brian, we know what Brian Thomas
Junior can do in a rookie year, what he's going
(12:57):
to be able to do going forward is going to
be even better. Will this give an opportunity for Trevor
to branch out a bit?
Speaker 4 (13:03):
Well, Listen, he didn't. Trevor had had limited time with
Brian Thomas. You know, made a couple of big throws.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
The one against the Colts the one in London against
the Patriots are two that stand out. He's going to
put himself in a position with Brian Thomas, he's going
to become his new security blanket, right. And then Brenton
Strange really came on again after Trevor was hurt last year.
I think the transition to those two guys will be
easier than some people might imagine because they're really talented
and we'll make the quarterbacks job a whole lot easier.
Speaker 5 (13:31):
Look again on to press, but I loved what Ingram
and Kirk did for this franchise for three years. They
were four and thirteen offense last year. Evan Ingram's yards
per reception were way down last year. He's caught a
lot of passes in the last couple of years, but
they have not been downfield passes. They've then passes that
(13:51):
sort of I don't say anybody could have done it,
but it was not special plays.
Speaker 6 (13:56):
He had one touchdown last year.
Speaker 5 (13:59):
Brian Thomas Junior in twenty twenty five, if he plays
LEVETD in twenty twenty four, is worth the combination of
Kirk and Ingram in their prime, meaning he's that good, right,
So I think some of it is there's a familiarity
with Kirk and Ingram. Fans loved them and got used
to them.
Speaker 6 (14:18):
I think when you look at.
Speaker 5 (14:19):
Where they've been, if both these players were at the
peak of their career, peak production for the Jaguars, then
I think this would be a bad move. But they've
been hurt the last couple of years. They're now going
into year ten and year nine and you're moving into
a new regime. Let's not paint this as they're losing
two All Pro players. I love these guys, but that's
(14:43):
not what they were the last year or so.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
We got nine new faces headed's Jacksonville this week, So
we're going to talk a little bit more in depth
about that after the break about some of the new
players come in to town. Move the freight, Move the freight,
(15:06):
Magellan Transport, What is the coolest office base in Jacksonville.
You can apply online at Magellanlogistics dot com.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
Welcome back in.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
It's gonna be a busy week. We're gonna get to
meet some of these new faces. But nine reported signings.
Of course, things become official later in the week, but
it's a lot of names. Now, we've been busy. This
scene has been busy in free agency before, but maybe
a little more money spent, a little more flash there.
This looks like a lot of setting the standard. And John,
I'm seeing a lot of you know, Vikings, like people
that they're familiar with, the Bucks, the you know, the
(15:36):
rams like these are teams that and players that the
coaches are familiar with.
Speaker 5 (15:40):
Well, Nick Mullens is obviously he's he's been with Yudinsky,
so he knows how this offense works. You want that
guy in the room with Trevor because when they're looking
at film, Mullins can presumably just say, hey, well that's
what you do on this play and you know, let's
move on. You're not having to google it, right, So,
and overall.
Speaker 6 (16:01):
That was a huge theme for some of them.
Speaker 5 (16:03):
I think it's important to note that Hainesy with the
Bucks started its center in twenty two and twenty three
for them did not start this past year because they
drafted a guy number twenty six overall, but he has
versatility as well as the ability to start at center.
I think overall, Brian that familiarity, bringing in guys who
understand what's being done.
Speaker 6 (16:26):
You know, it's the theme of the day. I don't
know how you get around it.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
No, And you look at the tight ends, right, I
think that's indicative of where their focus was, the offensive
line and the tight ends, because both the tight end
from the Rams and the tight end from the Vikings
are familiar faces and they're blocking tight ends. These are
not guys who are going to catch a hundred passes
or even fifty, but they understand the scheme and the
way that the Jaguars are going to have to get
(16:51):
this running game moving. And so they went and found
two guys. They fit from a cost perspective, they fit
from a scheme perspective, and their transitions to twenty twenty
seven twenty twenty eight. They'll help this team get where
it wants to go.
Speaker 5 (17:04):
And I think which shouldn't be lost the nickelback Lewis
from the Cowboys. If there was a splash signing, he
was probably at this. If you looked at this secondary
going into yesterday, Tyson Campbell's a starter.
Speaker 6 (17:22):
Yeah, you know, there's really nowhere else to go with it.
Speaker 5 (17:26):
So Jarion Jones, I think we'll have a chance in
this to fit in. I think Dewey Wingard will have
a role depending on the draft, but Murray from the Texans,
Lewis from the Cowboys. This was about being able to
see what your secondary was because before yesterday there were gaps.
Speaker 4 (17:47):
Well, it's a great point.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
Antonio Johnson's a guy that was drafted by the previous
regime and he has clearly a physical skill set. But
how does he fit in this news scheme and what
do they.
Speaker 4 (17:57):
Think of him?
Speaker 6 (17:58):
TBD?
Speaker 3 (17:58):
Yeah, that Monterrek Brown is the guy who's been around here,
made some big plays like the one in New Orleans
not long ago, and yet you don't know what they
think of him or whether he can play the way that.
Speaker 6 (18:08):
They want to.
Speaker 5 (18:09):
Yeah, the guys beyond Tyson who were here, I'm not
throwing them out, Yeah, but they are.
Speaker 6 (18:15):
Going to have to prove where they fit.
Speaker 5 (18:18):
You know, there's no pencil in yet on any of
those guys.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
For me, one of the names I was excited to
see was Diomie Brown. We watched the Commander's playoff game
together John against the Lions, and he had a great
playoff run for them, And just to have that speed
when we talk about Brian Thomas, clearly that's what they're
going with right now. I'm sure they'll fill in the
gaps elsewhere in the wide receiver group, but to have
those targets for Trevor exciting to see how they build
around it.
Speaker 5 (18:43):
Well, you know, if you just took his overall body
at work for four years, you wouldn't be that excited
if you took the last half of this last year.
I'm it's sacrileged to say this. I'm not gonna say it,
but I gotta say it because we're on the air.
Speaker 6 (18:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (18:59):
Keenan McCardell, remember was peaking with the Browns and then
they went and got him. Nobody really knew that much
about him and then all of a sudden he was ready.
Speaker 6 (19:07):
Boy.
Speaker 5 (19:08):
So there's that element of you, you like having this
sort of potential of this sort of speed.
Speaker 6 (19:15):
I think Keenan should be on the wall. So I'm
not gonna compare him to that you will be someday.
Speaker 5 (19:18):
But you know what I'm getting at right the ascending player,
this could be one of those diamonds. And they're rough,
and again they really feel like they now have two
players he can get deep.
Speaker 3 (19:29):
Keena was a twelfth round draft picker Washington who you know,
worked his way through the NFL, through the Bears and
the Browns and the Ravens and finally, you know, put
his feet on the ground here and became a player.
That's the same thing. Look, there's receivers everywhere because this
is a passing league. College football has become a passing league,
and not everybody's ready to step on the field, like
Brian Thomas Junior to be a star right of the gate.
And this guy, well, over a couple of years, it
(19:51):
appears he's really polished his skills and he's got something
that Keenan didn't have, which is that explosive speed.
Speaker 6 (19:58):
And Keenan also started his career with Washington.
Speaker 4 (20:02):
So here we go.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
But to Keenan's defense, Keenan was the toughest sun and
you ever met. I watched Eric Turner cut him in
half twice on back to back plays and him get
up and keep moving.
Speaker 5 (20:15):
So I mean Keenan, I mean, if I had to
put some man on the wall right now, he's not there.
Speaker 4 (20:20):
He belongs.
Speaker 6 (20:21):
He's that guy.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
Absolutely, stay with us. We'll tell you what's coming up
the rest of the week and what we've got cooking
behind the scenes as well. The exam brought to you
by Fresh from Florida.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
It's always in season.
Speaker 7 (20:49):
Everything you can read some of the stuff actual day shot,
taking a chance, looking forward to be see.
Speaker 6 (21:03):
You know, big upside like now parac Base.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
We want they're going to be here.
Speaker 7 (21:09):
Right hey.
Speaker 6 (21:10):
One of the trademarks of our leadership group is that
when there's an opportunity to be bold, we won't play.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Certainly, we're bold with some of their decisions right out
of the gate, and we're going to see a lot
more changes coming up this week with free agency and
then going into the draft, and the hunt is going
to be there for all of it. We're really excited
with this new regime, unprecedented access, a lot of great
stuff coming together, and the hunt will be back with you.
Speaker 3 (21:40):
So that's what you get when you go as young
as they did. They understand the dynamic of I mean
they've they've lived, they've grown up with NFL films, and
I mean it wasn't that the access wasn't there in
the early years because those coaches were so secret. Of
these guys, they're grown up with cameras everywhere, and so
it's they're used to it.
Speaker 4 (21:56):
It's good for the fans.
Speaker 5 (21:57):
Credits all three of them, Tiny Beseillar for understanding the
import to that. But to me, credit to Gladstone and
Cohen for this. When you're coming into a regime, it's
easy to say you want to be transparent. There's some
pressure on you and you're coming into the new world
to still say, okay, you know what you can see
as we go in this Not every executive and coach
(22:20):
would do that. So I guess thanks to them for
the fans for that.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
A lot of good stuff to come. We're gonna hear
from some of these free agents later in the week.
So we're back with you on jag Zam next week.
We'll be able to weigh in on that have a
good week.
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