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The third option is to offer him a new contract to stay that is commensurate with his level of play. That's what I see happening, and what I think the Jags should do. Say he gets a $1.5M offer for 2015. That's probably still more than any other team would offer. The extra $2.5M could be the additional signing bonus amount needed to win the bidding on (say) a good free agent free safety. Besides the waste of cap space that would be better spent on an impact player, f
or Alualu to make more than the starting defensive linemen is detrimental to the team morale.

 

You cannot offer him a new contract. You can release him or bring him back on the option. There is no restructuring they can do, just like they can't with Posluszny or Lewis. Teams are only permitted to do that if they're in need of cap relief, which the Jaguars are not.

 

The Jaguars will have 50M+ in cap room. This notion that Alualu's $4M cap hit would prevent them from doing anything whatsoever, or that the "extra $2.5M would help sway a free agent" is absurd and shows a gross misunderstanding of the salary cap and the Jaguars salary cap situation.

 

Alualu doesn't make more than any of the starting defensive lineman, and the idea that it "is detrimental to team morale" is hilarious. In fact, about 6 of the defensive lineman have roughly the same contract. Ziggy Hood got essentially the same contract Sen'Derrick Marks got. Looks like that really killed the morale on the defensive line.

 

EDIT: And yes, I just looked up the actual contract. The option carries a $1.2M option bonus and there is still roughly $300k in pro-rated signing bonus left, so you're on the hook for $1.5M whether the option is exercised or not. It's a player option, I thought it was a team option. 

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