Thoughts on the Jags’ first week of free agency

Vic Ketchman of jaguars.com is reporting that Mo Williams re-signed w/ the Jags this afternoon. The move locks up what was probably the only glaring hole in the roster remaining, aside from defensive end, as the first week of NFL free agency concluded. The Jags were unusually active this year at the start of the free agent signing period and managed to address some of the areas of concern on the team’s roster.

The Jags made their biggest splash this past week at wide receiver, a position that has plagued the Jags since the day Jimmy got got caught doing coke again Jimmy Smith retired. Reggie Williams finally began to justify Jack Del Rio and Shack Harris’ decision to take him with the 9th pick in the 2004 draft as he developed into a fine possession receiver this season, breaking Jimmy Smith’s club record for single season TD receptions. His performance combined with the signing of Dennis Northcutt in free agency last season, meant the Jags no longer required the services of Ernest Wilford who signed with the Dolphins last week. No one disputes that Wilford has great hands and he was a reliable target from his first game with the team when he caught the game winning TD pass in triple (!!) coverage with time expiring against the Bills in Week 1 of the 2004 season.

Even with Williams’ development, the Jags still needed a speedy receiver at the X position. The Jags addressed that ened with the signing of Jerry Porter and the acquisition of former Vikings receiver Troy Williamson (there’s a reason I used a clip from college; Williamson’s highlights w/ the Vikings haven’t been the kind you want people to remember).

Porter was unhappy his last couple years in Oakland but was a highly productive receiver for the Raiders before Rich Gannon’s career ending injury in 2004. He’ll be 30 years old when the season begins but he’s got the talent and speed to start immediately for the Jags and to draw attention away from the running game and the other receivers.

The signing of Cleo Lemon gives the Jags a decent backup QB as Quinn Gray was allowed to go and find a team that would give him a chance to compete for the starting job. P claims Lemon shouldn’t even be in the league. While I hope we don’t see Cleo anytime after Labor Day this year, I’m not sure it’s fair to judge him based on his performance with Miami last season. The Dolphins traded away their top two receivers to playoff teams and saw their starting running back suffer a career ending injury early in the season. The team’s roster was so depleted that Ricky Williams actually started for them in a game. Is Lemon a good QB? I have no idea, but I know that there isn’t a QB in the league that would’ve been able to have success in Miami last season.

The Jags surprised a lot of their fans (both of us, that is) by trading Pro Bowl DT Marcus Stroud to Buffalo for a third and fifth round pick. Marcus is attempting to come back from his second major surgery on his ankle in as many years and it’s uncertain whether he’ll ever be able to play anywhere near the level we had come to expect from him in Jacksonville. However, with Stroud gone, the Jags had a hole to fill on the defensive line which they addressed by signing former first round pick Jimmy Kennedy. At 6′4″ 320 lbs, Kennedy definitely takes up a lot of space. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been very productive since joining the league. I suspect the Jags plan on rotating Kennedy and Rob Meier much like they did near the end of last season with Grady Jackson. I expect to see Kennedy play most of the running downs with Meier coming in for pass plays.

The Jags have been weak at safety since the Jags let Donovan Darius go last offseason. They addressed the position by drafting Reggie Nelson, but Gerald Sensabaugh’s season ending shoulder injury left a hole at the strong safety spot which Sammy Knight filled for the year. Knight’s gone (and 80) now and the Jags were left still trying to find a long term solution at safety. The signing of Drayton Florence may fill that hole. Florence was a starting corner in San Diego before Antonio Cromartie took his starting spot. Florence has great speed but has had some character issues in the past including a helmet-to-helmet hit on Texans’ QB Matt Schaub that gave Houston’s QB a concussion and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the AFC Championship game against the Patriots, this season, that extended the Patriots possession leading to a New England FG. The Jags committed some serious money to Florence, an estimated $36 million over 6 years. That’s a lot of money for a nickel back or a safety. I suspect the Jags hope that Florence will be able to start at corner freeing Brian Williams to move back to the strong safety spot.

Almost as surprising as the Marcus Stroud trade was the Jags’ decision to release starting RG Chris Naeole this week. Naeole had developed into one of the best guards in the league until suffering a season ending quad injury. Apparently, the Jags were not confident in Naeole’s chances of making a full recovery and they decided to let the guard go.

Mo Williams, who had filled in for Naeole at the end of last season, became a free agent last week and was expected to sign with a team that wanted him to play at his former RT position. As the week wound down, Williams still had not signed with a new team and expressed interest in returning to Jacksonville. The Jags made a strike and plugged up the hole on the O-Line that had been created by Naeole’s release by re-signing Williams today. Williams struggled at tackle, ultimately forcing the Jags to grab Tony Pashos in free agency last year to play at the right tackle. However, he played well at the guard position in relief for Naeole and the Jags seem to believe he can play the position over the long term.

When the dust cleared, the Jags had committed nearly $30 million in guaranteed money over the course of the week to their new signings. Questions still remain, especially on the defensive line and in the secondary, but the Jags were able to find some guys to fill most of their roster’s holes while also picking up an extra draft pick. If they can find a long-term solution at defensive end before training camp, the Jags front office will have had a very successful off-season.