(06-10-2022, 04:44 PM)NYC4jags Wrote:

(06-10-2022, 04:33 PM)scottyg Wrote: Did we gripe a lot about how much we paid for Kirk?  Maybe I just didn't pay much attention because complaining about over-spending in unrestricted free-agency is just complaining for the sake of complaining.
It felt like a lot of whining came from national sources because we broke the market for free agent wideouts.  I kind of enjoyed that

Personally, my biggest problem with what we paid Kirk was the fact that it looked like we could have had Chark for about $12mil for 1 year.  I would have liked the Kirk signing better if we had Chark too.
Hopefully Kirk finds a rhythm with Trevor and has a career year.  We're due for something like that.  I'll be sweating my nards off in the stands either way, but I suuurrre hope I get to enjoy some Sundays this year.

I don't disagree with any of this, but have two points:

I don't think we broke the market at all. I think that is a crap narrative coming from one front office guy supposedly complaining to a writer who desperately needed something to write about. 

If a front office is incapable of negotiating a fair deal with a top tier receiver - and they blame it on a guy we gave only 50% guaranteed money to with a two year out,  they just suck at negotiating. Tyreek Hill didn't get paid his number because of Christian freaking Kirk. Not buying that.

Did we push up the second tier receiver threshold a bit by paying him around 18 or 19 per year for 2 years? 
Sure. A little. But only for those doing similarly structured deals. 
I just don't think it's fair or accurate to say that a guy on an incentive laden 2 year deal with the POSSIBILITY for it to become a 4 year payday is a worthy measuring stick. Seems like weak sauce. 
If there's a receiver on the market rated exactly like Kirk and a team gave him a 4 year deal with no out clause, with more guaranteed $ percentage and fewer incentives required, they absolutely would NOT have to match Kirks per year number on his 1st 2 years.

Chark wanted out. (IMO) The Meyer Error ruined him on Jacksonville. He was ready for a change. 
I don''t know what this regime offered him, but I can't imagine they wouldn't match that sum the Lions mustered. 
I'm very disappointed we didn't find a way to keep him around.

I know we've had this conversation before, but I want to remain on record as disagreeing.  Chark never said he wanted out and I see little to no evidence to suggest that he did.  Why would he?

Urban Meyer?  He's no longer the coach.

Trent Baalke?  If the Jaguars hypothetically outbid every other NFL team as you theorize, I find it hard to believe Chark would be upset at Baalke.

To play for a winner?  He signed with the 3-13-1 Detroit Lions.  

He didn't like Trevor Lawrence?  He was seen working out with Lawrence just days before signing with Detroit.  It also suggests that he was open to returning to the Jaguars.

He just wanted to live in Detroit?  Seems unlikely for someone who was born in the south, always lived in the south and chose to go to college in the south.  


There's also no evidence that the Jaguars offered him a better deal.  Agents make a living based upon their reputation for getting their clients the best deals.  If Chark got a better deal from a team other than Detroit, his agent would want the whole world to know.  He's not going to keep it a secret.  While I personally think Chark would have been a good value, it is not that hard to imagine the Jaguars didn't offer more considering that 30 other NFL teams also did not offer more.  I'm not sure if it was his injury history or what, but NFL teams clearly didn't value Chark as much as some of us fans.

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