Until we hear something definitive from either Telvin or the Jaguars regarding his reasoning for this decision, I prefer to not even attempt to speculate. Telvin may have had an off-season in 2017-18, but he deserves our prayers that he is alright. The guy has been a team leader, great with the fans and media and an absolute steal for a 5th round pick. He appears to be an emotional guy and having lost his younger brother had to be devastating. Regardless of the reason for his absence, my hope is that the fans and Jacksonville community support him through this difficult time.

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Until we hear something definitive from either Telvin or the Jaguars regarding his reasoning for this decision, I prefer to not even attempt to speculate. Telvin may have had an off-season in 2017-18, but he deserves our prayers that he is alright. The guy has been a team leader, great with the fans and media and an absolute steal for a 5th round pick. He appears to be an emotional guy and having lost his younger brother had to be devastating. Regardless of the reason for his absence, my hope is that the fans and Jacksonville community support him through this difficult time.

Indeed to all of that ^

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Hope he gets right. Health is the most important thing.

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At this point all that matetrs is what happens to the salary.

Or that Telvin gets whatever help he might need to overcome the issue(s) he's dealing with - ya know, because life.....

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The murder of Telvin Smith's brother and retirement of Paul Posluszny appears to have taken its toll on Telvin. Hopefully, the season off will make a positive difference in his life.

If was a rough year for him no doubt.  

No matter what, Telvin has always been a good guy.  Let's just hope he gets whatever help is needed.

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Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

My thoughts ion this situation...

I hope that as a person, Telvin Smith is okay. Based upon everything we've publicly known about Telvin Smith as a Jaguar, he's been a solid citizen for us and a good player. Hopefully whatever issue(s) has/have turned his world asunder can be overcome by him and make him a better person. As fans, we all have our wants for the team and our expectations for players on the team, and when someone doesn't meet those expectations, it can be easy for us to get angry at the player. But as I always say, players are public figures, not public property. They are more than their jersey number. They are human beings with human weaknesses and problems. Sadly, the contracts that so many of us seem to begrudge do not insulate them from those weaknesses or problems. Whatever it is he's facing, I'm rooting for Telvin Smith the person to beat it, whether he actually plays another down of football for us or not.

While it's possible this is a substance abuse/dependence related issue, part of me thinks this is something else. Even if his positive marijuana test at the combine back in '14 put him in the NFL's substance abuse program, if substance abuse were the issue, his suspension (assuming he was facing one) would only last 4 games since he hasn't been suspended since then. If that were the case, why would he choose to sit out the whole year and lose all of that money and risk his roster spot in the future? Furthermore, were he facing suspension from the league, the team would have known about it before yesterday. But based upon the press release, they were caught off guard by his announcement. On the other hand, Smith had never done anything like this before, and Caldwell's ominous "we'll see" approach to Telvin being on the roster this year seemed to come out of nowhere. If it is substance abuse/dependence and he is being proactive about getting treatment, then that speaks well to his character, in my estimation. But the feeling I'm getting is this is something more. While part of me thinks it unseemly to speculate the way I am, the circumstances make the speculation a very difficult temptation to resist.

On the subject of advance notice, even assuming the Jaguars had some suspicions something was wrong before the draft, I don't think they approach the draft any differently. I have no idea how their board was arranged, but I could not imagine the team taking any LB above Allen (who is listed in part as a LB). Telvin's absence would not or should not have moved, say Devin Bush, above Allen. The need at RT plus the apparent value that Taylor represented at 35 precluded a LB being taken there. Telvin Smith's issues would not have changed those first two picks. Smith's absence would not mitigate the need at TE either. While ideally, Smith would have been in communication with the team and given them advance notice something was amiss with him, I can't definitively state that any pick before round five would have been any different. Perhaps the most that would have changed is the Jaguars don't trade up from 38 to 35 and keep the 4th round pick, but again, given the need at RT and the value, I don't think anything changes.

While I am not a capologist, I believe the Jaguars will take steps to obtain some cap relief from Smith's absence. Of course the temptation is to as quickly as humanly possible, to allocate the cap savings to re-signing Yannick Ngakoue. But unless it (Yannick's new deal) is structured very creatively, I'm not sure how Telvin's cap figure would be high enough to induce Ngakoue to sign another deal. It seems too small to be a signing bonus. Maybe shifting the money to him would be a show of good faith by the team, but then it sets a dangerous precedent of sorts. Certainly every other player who needs a new contract would want the same good faith shown to them, with no guarantee they ever agree to terms with the team.

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

Telvin’s announcement is really unprecedented...28 years old in his prime walking from $10 million...hopefully this will trigger some communication back and forth with he and the team for support purposes.

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"I'm not mad, I'm proud of you. You took your first pinch like a man and you learn two great things in your life. Look at me, never rat on your friends and always keep your mouth shut." - Jimmy Conway

The paint has hit the canvas. The outcome of this painting is unknown at this time but something significant is going on w/Telvin. Speculating isn't for me but I'm Damn sure glad that we drafted Williams. The front office had to know about this situation hinse the reasoning of drafting and signing multiple LBs. Also there's an good chance that Telvin will never play a down for the Jaguars again whether he retires or not.

NH3...

It sure does seem like the Jags FO had an idea with all the LB signings, but when the news came out they said they were blindsided and had no idea. They could be bluffing that, but don't know what they gain by doing so.

The team statement was quite clear that they had no contact with Talvin and need to hear from him to understand how they respond to his tweet.

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Until we hear something definitive from either Telvin or the Jaguars regarding his reasoning for this decision, I prefer to not even attempt to speculate. Telvin may have had an off-season in 2017-18, but he deserves our prayers that he is alright. The guy has been a team leader, great with the fans and media and an absolute steal for a 5th round pick. He appears to be an emotional guy and having lost his younger brother had to be devastating. Regardless of the reason for his absence, my hope is that the fans and Jacksonville community support him through this difficult time.

Amen

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It sure does seem like the Jags FO had an idea with all the LB signings, but when the news came out they said they were blindsided and had no idea. They could be bluffing that, but don't know what they gain by doing so.

The team statement was quite clear that they had no contact with Talvin and need to hear from him to understand how they respond to his tweet.

Eh I think they had a fair idea what was going to happen. Because Telvin hasn't put what is specifically ailing him in public they're being coy and non committal about what's up out of respect.  

Teams keep tabs on players , they've known about this for awhile. Hence why we had Caldwell talking about Telvin being on the roster as a hypothetical and the mass drafting/signing of new linebackers.

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The team statement was quite clear that they had no contact with Talvin and need to hear from him to understand how they respond to his tweet.

Eh I think they had a fair idea what was going to happen. Because Telvin hasn't put what is specifically ailing him in public they're being coy and non committal about what's up out of respect.  

Teams keep tabs on players , they've known about this for awhile. Hence why we had Caldwell talking about Telvin being on the roster as a hypothetical and the mass drafting/signing of new linebackers.

You may be correct in your speculation, but even Marrone commented he had not received any reply from Talvin after trying to contact him.  One would think if he had contacted anyone in the organization it would have been the coach. The only important thing now is for Talvin to find the help he needs to get his life in order. He is one of my favorite players and I will be praying for him and his family.

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Eh I think they had a fair idea what was going to happen. Because Telvin hasn't put what is specifically ailing him in public they're being coy and non committal about what's up out of respect.  

Teams keep tabs on players , they've known about this for awhile. Hence why we had Caldwell talking about Telvin being on the roster as a hypothetical and the mass drafting/signing of new linebackers.

You may be correct in your speculation, but even Marrone commented he had not received any reply from Talvin after trying to contact him.  One would think if he had contacted anyone in the organization it would have been the coach. The only important thing now is for Talvin to find the help he needs to get his life in order. He is one of my favorite players and I will be praying for him and his family.

May not have had 1 to 1 convos but at very least they knew the seriousness of the situation , wasn't just a usual player skipping offseason stuff.

Same here man. The only thing that matters about this situation is his well being. I think this may have reminded a lot of Jags fans (including myself) the kind of person Telvin has been since day 1 here, regardless of what happened last year. Even if he never plays again he'll be in my favourite ever Jags list

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My thoughts ion this situation...

I hope that as a person, Telvin Smith is okay.  Based upon everything we've publicly  known about Telvin Smith as a Jaguar, he's been a solid citizen for us and a good player.  Hopefully whatever issue(s) has/have turned his world asunder can be overcome by him and make him a better person.  As fans, we all have our wants for the team and our expectations for players on the team, and when someone doesn't meet those expectations, it can be easy for us to get angry at the player.  But as I always say, players are public figures, not public property.  They are more than their jersey number.  They are human beings with human weaknesses and problems.  Sadly, the contracts that so many of us seem to begrudge do not insulate them from those weaknesses or problems.  Whatever it is he's facing, I'm rooting for Telvin Smith the person to beat it, whether he actually plays another down of football for us or not.

While it's possible this is a substance abuse/dependence related issue, part of me thinks this is something else.  Even if his positive marijuana test at the combine back in '14 put him in the NFL's substance abuse program, if substance abuse were the issue, his suspension (assuming he was facing one) would only last 4 games since he hasn't been suspended since then...

• If he's suspended, going on NFI for the year won't help because the suspension would be suspended until he's ready to play. In other words, he'd be sitting out the year with intentions to play in 2020. If a 4-game suspension was handed down, then Telvin would still have to miss the first four games of the 2020 season. So, I don't think it's a suspension.
  

...If that were the case, why would he choose to sit out the whole year and lose all of that money and risk his roster spot in the future?

• Keep in mind he's not necessarily walking away from any money unless this results in him being waived. If he's sitting out the year, his base salary is suspended for the year as his yearly base salaries would all move forward a year and he'd automatically be under contract for an additional year. The team is would see the cap relief from his base salary ($9.75 mil) not counting this year as only his signing bonus hit ($2.81 mil) would count.
  

...Furthermore, were he facing suspension from the league, the team would have known about it before yesterday.  But based upon the press release, they were caught off guard by his announcement.  On the other hand, Smith had never done anything like this before, and Caldwell's ominous "we'll see" approach to Telvin being on the roster this year seemed to come out of nowhere.  If it is substance abuse/dependence and he is being proactive about getting treatment, then that speaks well to his character, in my estimation.  But the feeling I'm getting is this is something more.  While part of me thinks it unseemly to speculate the way I am, the circumstances make the speculation a very difficult temptation to resist.

• While I don't believe he's facing a suspension, if he was, the team wouldn't necessarily know. The league is very strict about not releasing suspension findings until officially announced, and that includes releasing the information to teams. Generally speakig, the only way a team knows is if the player tells them.
  

On the subject of advance notice, even assuming the Jaguars had some suspicions something was wrong before the draft, I don't think they approach the draft any differently.  I have no idea how their board was arranged, but I could not imagine the team taking any LB above Allen (who is listed in part as a LB).  Telvin's absence would not or should not have moved, say Devin Bush, above Allen.  The need at RT plus the apparent value that Taylor represented at 35 precluded a LB being taken there.  Telvin Smith's issues would not have changed those first two picks.  Smith's absence would not mitigate the need at TE either.  While ideally, Smith would have been in communication with the team and given them advance notice something was amiss with him, I can't definitively state that any pick before round five would have been any different.  Perhaps the most that would have changed is the Jaguars don't trade up from 38 to 35 and keep the 4th round pick, but again, given the need at RT and the value, I don't think anything changes.

• It's possible they somehow knew, or knew enough to presume, Telvin might not play. We don't know, for instance, if Bush would have been the pick had Josh Allen not been there, but it was very apparent that Allen was easily the top player on their board.  The Quincy Williams pick possibly speaks volumes seeing as they actually reached for a guy whose skill-set, metrics and game very much resemble Telvin's. It's hard to say that Quincy could just take over for one of the best OLBs and playmakers in the game as a 3rd round reach in the draft, but if what he did in college were to transcend to the NFL, he just might come close enough to make things work. I half suspect that had Telvin showed up to the OTAs, Will Grier would have been our late 3rd round pick.
  

While I am not a capologist, I believe the Jaguars will  take steps to obtain some cap relief from Smith's absence.   Of course the temptation is to as quickly as humanly possible, to allocate the cap savings to re-signing Yannick Ngakoue.  But unless it (Yannick's new deal) is structured very creatively, I'm not sure how Telvin's cap figure would be high enough to induce Ngakoue to sign another deal.  It seems too small to be a signing bonus.  Maybe shifting the money to him would be a show of good faith by the team, but then it sets a dangerous precedent of sorts.  Certainly every other player who needs a new contract would want the same good faith shown to them, with no guarantee they ever agree to terms with the team.

• It just might be enough to extend Ngakou. Consider that the team is about $13.75 mil under the cap. Add on $9.75 mil in savings, and suddenly the team is $23.5 mil under. That's plenty of money to work with. Heck, they could probably extend a couple key players.
  

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'02

Eh I think they had a fair idea what was going to happen. Because Telvin hasn't put what is specifically ailing him in public they're being coy and non committal about what's up out of respect.  

Teams keep tabs on players , they've known about this for awhile. Hence why we had Caldwell talking about Telvin being on the roster as a hypothetical and the mass drafting/signing of new linebackers.

You may be correct in your speculation, but even Marrone commented he had not received any reply from Talvin after trying to contact him.  One would think if he had contacted anyone in the organization it would have been the coach. The only important thing now is for Talvin to find the help he needs to get his life in order. He is one of my favorite players and I will be praying for him and his family.

We've heard a few times that the team hasn't heard a peep from Telvin or his agent and that his Telvin's agent wasn't even returning their inquiries. In the press conference, we were able to glean a little more as all three spoke. It was a little confusing at the time, but with I'm thinking they were able to put two and two together from everything they did know. Behavioral analysis can help to predict potential actions. Let's look at the conference again with better hindsight...

• Coughlin makes it clear that there has been zero trade talk regarding Telvin while also letting us know that they know nothing of Telvin's intentions. He even said that if anyone does know anything about Telvin to please tell him. They're in the dark about Telvin and have to be careful to not violate NFLPA rules, however, Coughlin was sure to point out that "frankly, all the players should be here." The next day Ramsey's agent stirred up a media frenzy explaining that the Jags know full well what Ramsey is doing and that Coughlin shouldn't have said that, but now it appears the statement never really had anything to do with Ramsey.
  
• Marrone takes over, and when addressing the same question said something a little funny. He said that Telvin is not showing up for the voluntary practices but then suggested that he might not show for the mandatory practice. A reporter even asked him if that meant he talked to Telvin, and he said no, and then passes it off as meaning everything will be fine as long as he shows up for the mandatory stuff.  Nobody thought much of the comment, but now it hints of them suspecting something.
  
• Caldwell then comes on and practically stokes the trade rumor findings. I forget his words, but it was almost like "hey, if someone wants Telvin, let me know."  We may need to go back and listen to him again as that's not what he said... it's just my impression of what he said... but it was unexpected suggesting something really might be amiss regarding Telvin.

Telvin later came out and said that he loves Duval and is not going anywhere helping to quell trade rumors. Even though he might not know if he was being traded, players usually have an idea that it might happen. He didn't say much but basically clarified that there's nothing to the trade rumors. A week later, he comes out and explains that he intends to take the year off football

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'02

My thoughts ion this situation...

I hope that as a person, Telvin Smith is okay.  Based upon everything we've publicly  known about Telvin Smith as a Jaguar, he's been a solid citizen for us and a good player.  Hopefully whatever issue(s) has/have turned his world asunder can be overcome by him and make him a better person.  As fans, we all have our wants for the team and our expectations for players on the team, and when someone doesn't meet those expectations, it can be easy for us to get angry at the player.  But as I always say, players are public figures, not public property.  They are more than their jersey number.  They are human beings with human weaknesses and problems.  Sadly, the contracts that so many of us seem to begrudge do not insulate them from those weaknesses or problems.  Whatever it is he's facing, I'm rooting for Telvin Smith the person to beat it, whether he actually plays another down of football for us or not.

While it's possible this is a substance abuse/dependence related issue, part of me thinks this is something else.  Even if his positive marijuana test at the combine back in '14 put him in the NFL's substance abuse program, if substance abuse were the issue, his suspension (assuming he was facing one) would only last 4 games since he hasn't been suspended since then...

• If he's suspended, going on NFI for the year won't help because the suspension would be suspended until he's ready to play. In other words, he'd be sitting out the year with intentions to play in 2020. If a 4-game suspension was handed down, then Telvin would still have to miss the first four games of the 2020 season. So, I don't think it's a suspension.
  

Exactly right.  Once he returned, the suspension would be waiting for him.  Which is another reason I'm not sold this is substance related.  Of course it's possible he may have decided to do this not knowing he couldn't avoid a suspension, but either way I don't think this is substance related.

...If that were the case, why would he choose to sit out the whole year and lose all of that money and risk his roster spot in the future?

• Keep in mind he's not necessarily walking away from any money unless this results in him being waived. If he's sitting out the year, his base salary is suspended for the year as his yearly base salaries would all move forward a year and he'd automatically be under contract for an additional year. The team is would see the cap relief from his base salary ($9.75 mil) not counting this year as only his signing bonus hit ($2.81 mil) would count.
  

He would be walking away from money this year.  If he decides not to play this year, he'd still have remaining years on his deal, but his salary would be lost for this year.  He couldn't invest the money, draw interest, or spend it like a drunken sailor on a hedonistic binge.  Sitting out a year puts him at risk for his skills to deteriorate some especially without the typical grind that comes with the Pro Football calendar.  What's more, while he likely would have gone into 2020 as the presumed starter under normal circumstances, he won't have that presumption if he sits out the year and returns in 2020.  If the team was right on Williams, Smith would have an uphill battle to even retain his spot on the roster.  He'd be 29, with a year off, potentially deemed unreliable on some level, and expensive.  This strategy is not without financial and career risk to him.

On the subject of advance notice, even assuming the Jaguars had some suspicions something was wrong before the draft, I don't think they approach the draft any differently.  I have no idea how their board was arranged, but I could not imagine the team taking any LB above Allen (who is listed in part as a LB).  Telvin's absence would not or should not have moved, say Devin Bush, above Allen.  The need at RT plus the apparent value that Taylor represented at 35 precluded a LB being taken there.  Telvin Smith's issues would not have changed those first two picks.  Smith's absence would not mitigate the need at TE either.  While ideally, Smith would have been in communication with the team and given them advance notice something was amiss with him, I can't definitively state that any pick before round five would have been any different.  Perhaps the most that would have changed is the Jaguars don't trade up from 38 to 35 and keep the 4th round pick, but again, given the need at RT and the value, I don't think anything changes.

• It's possible they somehow knew, or knew enough to presume, Telvin might not play. We don't know, for instance, if Bush would have been the pick had Josh Allen not been there, but it was very apparent that Allen was easily the top player on their board.  The Quincy Williams pick possibly speaks volumes seeing as they actually reached for a guy whose skill-set, metrics and game very much resemble Telvin's. It's hard to say that Quincy could just take over for one of the best OLBs and playmakers in the game as a 3rd round reach in the draft, but if what he did in college were to transcend to the NFL, he just might come close enough to make things work. I half suspect that had Telvin showed up to the OTAs, Will Grier would have been our late 3rd round pick.
  

Maybe the Williams pick is a hedge against Telvin being out. But either way, I don't see too much changing based upon how the draft went, If they suspected he would be out for the year for whatever reason, the fact is they didn't address the position (assuming Allen plays as a rush end primarily) until the bototm of round 3.

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

Yeah I’m of the mind that if the team really didn’t know this announcement was coming, they highly suspected something was wrong with him and made appropriate moves to try to protect themselves from such a surprise. Wish him the best.

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Nice Job Caldwell.

What in the world? 

Explain.

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I went in and told my boss that I was taking the year off. He's so nice, he told me to take 2 or 3 years off.

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Maybe the Williams pick is a hedge against Telvin being out.  But either way, I don't see too much changing based upon how the draft went,  If they suspected he would be out for the year for whatever reason, the fact is they didn't address the position (assuming Allen plays as a rush end primarily) until the bototm of round 3.

I feel like we need to avoid the presumption that Allen is strictly a pass rusher. His highlights suggest as much, but when you watch more of him he's doing all the LB stuff. I have no issues with Allen being the starting SAM, and then coming up to play DE in the nickel. 

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'02

Maybe the Williams pick is a hedge against Telvin being out.  But either way, I don't see too much changing based upon how the draft went,  If they suspected he would be out for the year for whatever reason, the fact is they didn't address the position (assuming Allen plays as a rush end primarily) until the bototm of round 3.

I feel like we need to avoid the presumption that Allen is strictly a pass rusher. 

I've seen no one presuming that.  It's merely anticipated that rushing the passer will be his primary role. Not his sole responsibility. 

Whether he "starts" at SAM or merely gets some snaps there, most people seem to suspect they'll find ways to get him on the field besides just rotating at both DE spots. Snaps at SAM are the next most obvious way to include him.

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