It wouldn't make sense to re-sign Taylor.  Walker Little is perfectly fine at either LT or RT.  

Arden Key was a part-time rotational player and will command too much in the open market.  

Engram is the only "must-sign" pending free agent, but using the franchise tag would be perfectly acceptable. Next year, there are several home-grown players like Josh Allen, Davon Hamilton, Ben Bartch, etc. that should be priority signings.  


Time to be frugal and get some compensatory picks.

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It wouldn't make sense to re-sign Taylor.  Walker Little is perfectly fine at either LT or RT.  

Arden Key was a part-time rotational player and will command too much in the open market.  

Engram is the only "must-sign" pending free agent, but using the franchise tag would be perfectly acceptable. Next year, there are several home-grown players like Josh Allen, Davon Hamilton, Ben Bartch, etc. that should be priority signings.  


Time to be frugal and get some compensatory picks.

There is no way I re-sign Josh Allen next year. We drafted him thinking he was gonna be an elite pass rusher and although he's been good, he's certainly not been the player we thought he'd be. Ever since his rookie year, he's been a letdown. No doubt he's gonna command a very big contract, because edge rushers always get over-inflated deals. I don't want to commit big money to a player who has 1 or 2 big games each year and then disappears for the next 4-5 games at a time. It's time for us to admit, we were wrong about this guy (me included) and move on. That money could be used on better players. I'm hoping we find a stud edge rusher for the foreseeable future in this draft. There are some pretty good ones out there. We just need to finally identify the right one.

---

It wouldn't make sense to re-sign Taylor.  Walker Little is perfectly fine at either LT or RT.  

Arden Key was a part-time rotational player and will command too much in the open market.  

Engram is the only "must-sign" pending free agent, but using the franchise tag would be perfectly acceptable. Next year, there are several home-grown players like Josh Allen, Davon Hamilton, Ben Bartch, etc. that should be priority signings.  


Time to be frugal and get some compensatory picks.

There is no way I re-sign Josh Allen next year. We drafted him thinking he was gonna be an elite pass rusher and although he's been good, he's certainly not been the player we thought he'd be. Ever since his rookie year, he's been a letdown. No doubt he's gonna command a very big contract, because edge rushers always get over-inflated deals. I don't want to commit big money to a player who has 1 or 2 big games each year and then disappears for the next 4-5 games at a time. It's time for us to admit, we were wrong about this guy (me included) and move on. That money could be used on better players. I'm hoping we find a stud edge rusher for the foreseeable future in this draft. There are some pretty good ones out there. We just need to finally identify the right one.

Good teams don't let really good, really young players at premium positions walk. That's bad business. Re-sign the man.

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There is no way I re-sign Josh Allen next year. We drafted him thinking he was gonna be an elite pass rusher and although he's been good, he's certainly not been the player we thought he'd be. Ever since his rookie year, he's been a letdown. No doubt he's gonna command a very big contract, because edge rushers always get over-inflated deals. I don't want to commit big money to a player who has 1 or 2 big games each year and then disappears for the next 4-5 games at a time. It's time for us to admit, we were wrong about this guy (me included) and move on. That money could be used on better players. I'm hoping we find a stud edge rusher for the foreseeable future in this draft. There are some pretty good ones out there. We just need to finally identify the right one.

Good teams don't let really good, really young players at premium positions walk. That's bad business. Re-sign the man.

Correction, slightly good and young. Allen has alot to prove.

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It wouldn't make sense to re-sign Taylor.  Walker Little is perfectly fine at either LT or RT.  

Arden Key was a part-time rotational player and will command too much in the open market.  

Engram is the only "must-sign" pending free agent, but using the franchise tag would be perfectly acceptable. Next year, there are several home-grown players like Josh Allen, Davon Hamilton, Ben Bartch, etc. that should be priority signings.  


Time to be frugal and get some compensatory picks.

There is no way I re-sign Josh Allen next year. We drafted him thinking he was gonna be an elite pass rusher and although he's been good, he's certainly not been the player we thought he'd be. Ever since his rookie year, he's been a letdown. No doubt he's gonna command a very big contract, because edge rushers always get over-inflated deals. I don't want to commit big money to a player who has 1 or 2 big games each year and then disappears for the next 4-5 games at a time. It's time for us to admit, we were wrong about this guy (me included) and move on. That money could be used on better players. I'm hoping we find a stud edge rusher for the foreseeable future in this draft. There are some pretty good ones out there. We just need to finally identify the right one.

He’s playing on his 5th year option. If he produces and has a year where those pressures lead to more sacks, I’ll give him the contract. 

In this league, you need 2 (or really 3-4) really good pass rushers to win. It SHOULD be Walker and Allen.

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It wouldn't make sense to re-sign Taylor.  Walker Little is perfectly fine at either LT or RT.  

Arden Key was a part-time rotational player and will command too much in the open market.  

Engram is the only "must-sign" pending free agent, but using the franchise tag would be perfectly acceptable. Next year, there are several home-grown players like Josh Allen, Davon Hamilton, Ben Bartch, etc. that should be priority signings.  


Time to be frugal and get some compensatory picks.

There is no way I re-sign Josh Allen next year. We drafted him thinking he was gonna be an elite pass rusher and although he's been good, he's certainly not been the player we thought he'd be. Ever since his rookie year, he's been a letdown. No doubt he's gonna command a very big contract, because edge rushers always get over-inflated deals. I don't want to commit big money to a player who has 1 or 2 big games each year and then disappears for the next 4-5 games at a time. It's time for us to admit, we were wrong about this guy (me included) and move on. That money could be used on better players. I'm hoping we find a stud edge rusher for the foreseeable future in this draft. There are some pretty good ones out there. We just need to finally identify the right one.

I tend to agree here, at least to an extent.

I would pay Allen, and others, according to their production. Elite players deserve elite contracts. Allen isn’t bad but neither is he elite. If he asks for a ton of $$$ I would say c’ya.

In fact, I would entertain trading him.

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It wouldn't make sense to re-sign Taylor.  Walker Little is perfectly fine at either LT or RT.  

Arden Key was a part-time rotational player and will command too much in the open market.  

Engram is the only "must-sign" pending free agent, but using the franchise tag would be perfectly acceptable. Next year, there are several home-grown players like Josh Allen, Davon Hamilton, Ben Bartch, etc. that should be priority signings.  


Time to be frugal and get some compensatory picks.

Little was NOT fine at RT.

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There is no way I re-sign Josh Allen next year. We drafted him thinking he was gonna be an elite pass rusher and although he's been good, he's certainly not been the player we thought he'd be. Ever since his rookie year, he's been a letdown. No doubt he's gonna command a very big contract, because edge rushers always get over-inflated deals. I don't want to commit big money to a player who has 1 or 2 big games each year and then disappears for the next 4-5 games at a time. It's time for us to admit, we were wrong about this guy (me included) and move on. That money could be used on better players. I'm hoping we find a stud edge rusher for the foreseeable future in this draft. There are some pretty good ones out there. We just need to finally identify the right one.

He’s playing on his 5th year option. If he produces and has a year where those pressures lead to more sacks, I’ll give him the contract. 

In this league, you need 2 (or really 3-4) really good pass rushers to win. It SHOULD be Walker and Allen.

Agreed. Goes back to what Caldwell and Co. decide to do defensively. Should they go to a more traditional 4 - 3 base or continue to ride out this odd, 3 - 4 front thing they had going on all year with Walker doing 2 point stance stuff. 

I really think they [BLEEP] up evaluations last year on defense. Still pisses me off what they did with Walker, Lloyd and Williams. At this point it really feels like it should have been:

Allen - Walker - Fatukasi - Key in a 4 - 3 set full time. With Lloyd at weakside, Oluokon at mike and Muma at strongside. Just aggravating that we mismanaged this personnel IMHO. Williams was obviously the better option on the outside all along as well. Hope they get this [BLEEP] figured out moving forward before free agency even starts next month.

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"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

He’s playing on his 5th year option. If he produces and has a year where those pressures lead to more sacks, I’ll give him the contract. 

In this league, you need 2 (or really 3-4) really good pass rushers to win. It SHOULD be Walker and Allen.

Agreed. Goes back to what Caldwell and Co. decide to do defensively. Should they go to a more traditional 4 - 3 base or continue to ride out this odd, 3 - 4 front thing they had going on all year with Walker doing 2 point stance stuff. 

I really think they [BLEEP] up evaluations last year on defense. Still pisses me off what they did with Walker, Lloyd and Williams. At this point it really feels like it should have been:

Allen - Walker - Fatukasi - Key in a 4 - 3 set full time. With Lloyd at weakside, Oluokon at mike and Muma at strongside. Just aggravating that we mismanaged this personnel IMHO. Williams was obviously the better option on the outside all along as well. Hope they get this [BLEEP] figured out moving forward before free agency even starts next month.

Wasn't '22 only the 2nd year out of a 3-4 front, plus a different ideation of from '21? I thought it normally takes like 3 years to really get the depth and best personal when switching between base 4-3 and 3-4 fronts?

Is that basically negated due to how much Nickel they have to play now? But that depends what they view the best concept when adapting the 3-4 to Nickel -- taking out the NT, DE, or LB -- and how much versatility they desire out of it. 

I still think the defensive assessments was based on a idea that they thought they had 2 years for the rookies to get up to speed, pop and for the defense to truly work. But the team overachieved down the stretch and become a player a year early.

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There is no way I re-sign Josh Allen next year. We drafted him thinking he was gonna be an elite pass rusher and although he's been good, he's certainly not been the player we thought he'd be. Ever since his rookie year, he's been a letdown. No doubt he's gonna command a very big contract, because edge rushers always get over-inflated deals. I don't want to commit big money to a player who has 1 or 2 big games each year and then disappears for the next 4-5 games at a time. It's time for us to admit, we were wrong about this guy (me included) and move on. That money could be used on better players. I'm hoping we find a stud edge rusher for the foreseeable future in this draft. There are some pretty good ones out there. We just need to finally identify the right one.

He’s playing on his 5th year option. If he produces and has a year where those pressures lead to more sacks, I’ll give him the contract. 

In this league, you need 2 (or really 3-4) really good pass rushers to win. It SHOULD be Walker and Allen.

No you won't, if he produces you missed the window and he's gone somewhere else for money you can't pay. He's good enough right now to pay him the money and both solidify the position long term and help the cap this year.

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“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

He’s playing on his 5th year option. If he produces and has a year where those pressures lead to more sacks, I’ll give him the contract. 

In this league, you need 2 (or really 3-4) really good pass rushers to win. It SHOULD be Walker and Allen.

Agreed. Goes back to what Caldwell and Co. decide to do defensively. Should they go to a more traditional 4 - 3 base or continue to ride out this odd, 3 - 4 front thing they had going on all year with Walker doing 2 point stance stuff. 

I really think they [BLEEP] up evaluations last year on defense. Still pisses me off what they did with Walker, Lloyd and Williams. At this point it really feels like it should have been:

Allen - Walker - Fatukasi - Key in a 4 - 3 set full time. With Lloyd at weakside, Oluokon at mike and Muma at strongside. Just aggravating that we mismanaged this personnel IMHO. Williams was obviously the better option on the outside all along as well. Hope they get this [BLEEP] figured out moving forward before free agency even starts next month.

One of, if not the most important off-season decisions will be which defensive scheme to utilize as their base next season. It does appear that the current roster is more suited to the 4-3. No one can know for sure whether Walker can develop into a 10 sack per season Edge rusher playing at the same spot as 2022-23. However, those with much more knowledge than me on this question tend to believe the answer is "no" and that extending this "experiment" into the 2023-24 season would hurt the defense. 

If the above is true and Caldwell does go to the 4-3 base defense, Walker could play either DE or DT, depending on the situation. The team should still either draft or sign in free agency at least one defensive lineman/pass rusher. I like the versatility that Arden Key possesses and hope they re-sign him. If I'm Trent Baalke, I let Taylor walk and don't re-sign Robertson-Harris. By making these moves and re-structuring 2 or 3 high-priced contracts, the team could then afford to pay Engram and Key and one other high-priced free agent. Baalke could then go after Daron Payne giving the Jaguars a line of:

Walker.- Payne- Fatukasi- Allen (with Hamilton and Key as primary rotational players)

Walker could move inside on obvious passing downs and I believe the pass rushing problems would disappear. I like your linebacker group and really believe Lloyd will improve greatly next season. He did not have a pre-season and the linebacker position is one of the toughest to learn as a rookie.

Some may be skeptical that the team will be able to afford Payne, but teams seem to be able to "find" enough money to sign high-priced free agents by re-structuring other contracts plus the salary cap does go up next season. It is hard to believe considering our recent history, but Jacksonville will be a popular destination for free agents as long as Lawrence and Pederson remain with the team. Why not go "all out" to sign one of the top free agents who will only be 26 years old?

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There is no way I re-sign Josh Allen next year. We drafted him thinking he was gonna be an elite pass rusher and although he's been good, he's certainly not been the player we thought he'd be. Ever since his rookie year, he's been a letdown. No doubt he's gonna command a very big contract, because edge rushers always get over-inflated deals. I don't want to commit big money to a player who has 1 or 2 big games each year and then disappears for the next 4-5 games at a time. It's time for us to admit, we were wrong about this guy (me included) and move on. That money could be used on better players. I'm hoping we find a stud edge rusher for the foreseeable future in this draft. There are some pretty good ones out there. We just need to finally identify the right one.

Good teams don't let really good, really young players at premium positions walk. That's bad business. Re-sign the man.

He's not really good. He's good. He's also extremely inconsistent. That's been our problem for a long time on many areas within the defense, inconsistency. It's time to change that. I wouldn't waste cap money on inconsistent players. It's time to start "swinging for the fences" and looking for players we can center this defense around.

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There is no way I re-sign Josh Allen next year. We drafted him thinking he was gonna be an elite pass rusher and although he's been good, he's certainly not been the player we thought he'd be. Ever since his rookie year, he's been a letdown. No doubt he's gonna command a very big contract, because edge rushers always get over-inflated deals. I don't want to commit big money to a player who has 1 or 2 big games each year and then disappears for the next 4-5 games at a time. It's time for us to admit, we were wrong about this guy (me included) and move on. That money could be used on better players. I'm hoping we find a stud edge rusher for the foreseeable future in this draft. There are some pretty good ones out there. We just need to finally identify the right one.

He’s playing on his 5th year option. If he produces and has a year where those pressures lead to more sacks, I’ll give him the contract. 

In this league, you need 2 (or really 3-4) really good pass rushers to win. It SHOULD be Walker and Allen.

Should it though? Walker is a 3-4 DE/4-3 DT playing out of position at 3-4 OLB/4-3 DE. Maybe if we actually move him to where he should be playing, we could maximize his potential.

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It wouldn't make sense to re-sign Taylor.  Walker Little is perfectly fine at either LT or RT.  

Arden Key was a part-time rotational player and will command too much in the open market.  

Engram is the only "must-sign" pending free agent, but using the franchise tag would be perfectly acceptable. Next year, there are several home-grown players like Josh Allen, Davon Hamilton, Ben Bartch, etc. that should be priority signings.  


Time to be frugal and get some compensatory picks.

Little was NOT fine at RT.

Which is why I would use 2-3 picks in this draft on O-Linemen. Create competition.

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He’s playing on his 5th year option. If he produces and has a year where those pressures lead to more sacks, I’ll give him the contract. 

In this league, you need 2 (or really 3-4) really good pass rushers to win. It SHOULD be Walker and Allen.

Agreed. Goes back to what Caldwell and Co. decide to do defensively. Should they go to a more traditional 4 - 3 base or continue to ride out this odd, 3 - 4 front thing they had going on all year with Walker doing 2 point stance stuff. 

I really think they [BLEEP] up evaluations last year on defense. Still pisses me off what they did with Walker, Lloyd and Williams. At this point it really feels like it should have been:

Allen - Walker - Fatukasi - Key in a 4 - 3 set full time. With Lloyd at weakside, Oluokon at mike and Muma at strongside. Just aggravating that we mismanaged this personnel IMHO. Williams was obviously the better option on the outside all along as well. Hope they get this [BLEEP] figured out moving forward before free agency even starts next month.

I would've used Allen-Walker-Hamilton-Key.

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It wouldn't make sense to re-sign Taylor.  Walker Little is perfectly fine at either LT or RT.  

Arden Key was a part-time rotational player and will command too much in the open market.  

Engram is the only "must-sign" pending free agent, but using the franchise tag would be perfectly acceptable. Next year, there are several home-grown players like Josh Allen, Davon Hamilton, Ben Bartch, etc. that should be priority signings.  


Time to be frugal and get some compensatory picks.

There is no way I re-sign Josh Allen next year. We drafted him thinking he was gonna be an elite pass rusher and although he's been good, he's certainly not been the player we thought he'd be. Ever since his rookie year, he's been a letdown. No doubt he's gonna command a very big contract, because edge rushers always get over-inflated deals. I don't want to commit big money to a player who has 1 or 2 big games each year and then disappears for the next 4-5 games at a time. It's time for us to admit, we were wrong about this guy (me included) and move on. That money could be used on better players. I'm hoping we find a stud edge rusher for the foreseeable future in this draft. There are some pretty good ones out there. We just need to finally identify the right one.

Ah the classic ol, lets let a good young player go at a premium position and hope we can just replace him in the draft LOL. Because that has worked out for us plenty of times before right? lolol

You don't replace young pass rushers, instead you continue to ADD more pass rushers around the guys you already have.

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Good teams don't let really good, really young players at premium positions walk. That's bad business. Re-sign the man.

He's not really good. He's good. He's also extremely inconsistent. That's been our problem for a long time on many areas within the defense, inconsistency. It's time to change that. I wouldn't waste cap money on inconsistent players. It's time to start "swinging for the fences" and looking for players we can center this defense around.

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He’s playing on his 5th year option. If he produces and has a year where those pressures lead to more sacks, I’ll give him the contract. 

In this league, you need 2 (or really 3-4) really good pass rushers to win. It SHOULD be Walker and Allen.

Should it though? Walker is a 3-4 DE/4-3 DT playing out of position at 3-4 OLB/4-3 DE. Maybe if we actually move him to where he should be playing, we could maximize his potential.

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Little was NOT fine at RT.

Which is why I would use 2-3 picks in this draft on O-Linemen. Create competition.

They just spent $200m in one free agency last year... I'd say that's swinging for the fences.

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Good teams don't let really good, really young players at premium positions walk. That's bad business. Re-sign the man.

He's not really good. He's good. He's also extremely inconsistent. That's been our problem for a long time on many areas within the defense, inconsistency. It's time to change that. I wouldn't waste cap money on inconsistent players. It's time to start "swinging for the fences" and looking for players we can center this defense around.

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He’s playing on his 5th year option. If he produces and has a year where those pressures lead to more sacks, I’ll give him the contract. 

In this league, you need 2 (or really 3-4) really good pass rushers to win. It SHOULD be Walker and Allen.

Should it though? Walker is a 3-4 DE/4-3 DT playing out of position at 3-4 OLB/4-3 DE. Maybe if we actually move him to where he should be playing, we could maximize his potential.

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Little was NOT fine at RT.

Which is why I would use 2-3 picks in this draft on O-Linemen. Create competition.

Interesting.  You seem to think the o-line matters.

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I'm for extending Josh Allen this year.  I think he's under-rated.  He was seventh in pressures last year.  I think the lack of sacks has more to do with his surrounding cast.  If you look at his so-called "sack slump" last year, it overwhelmingly overlaps with the games after Griffin was injured but before Williams was moved to outside corner.  Allen got pressure, but it's hard to get a sack when the offense has players running wide open.  The quarterback will get rid of the ball by throwing to the open player.  That problem was partially solved by moving Williams outside.  The Jaguars need to get a good nickel corner in the draft.  They also need to do a much better job collapsing the pocket either by drafting an interior defensive lineman or taking an edge and moving Walker inside.  If the Jaguars do both of those things, I predict Josh Allen will suddenly have a big year next year.  Let's resign him now while we have an opportunity.  If he has a big year as I predict, his price will skyrocket.

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My previous position towards free agency was to resign Engram and maybe Key but otherwise be fairly conservative in our signings.  I didn't like the idea of pushing too much money into 2024.  However, I'm now doing a 180.  Assuming Over the Cap is correct, we're $76 million under the salary cap in 2024.  I didn't realize that.  It changes everything.  We can easily afford to shift money from 2023 to 2024 and we have plenty of players that we can restructure to do it.

Using round numbers, we're $22 million over the cap in 2023.  However, that doesn't include Ridley because he's currently suspended.  If we assume he's reinstated, it puts our cap overrun around $32 million.  Shaquill Griffin is an easy cut that saves us $13 million.  That puts our cap overrun at $19 million.  We can shift that $19 million to 2024 and still be $57 million under the cap in 2024.  Going further, in 2024, we can cut Cam Robinson and Scherff, saving us $34 million.  Robinson can be replaced by Walker Little and guard is a non-premium position that is easy to replace.  We would be $91 million under the cap in the 2024.  

The $91 million can be used over 2023 or 2024 as we can still push more money from 2023 to 2024.  I now say let's keep as much of the band together as possible.  If the players are willing to sign fair deals, let's keep as many of our free agents as we can, including Jawaan Taylor.  We are already a playoff team.  Use the draft to upgrade and watch Trevor Lawrence and our other young players continue to develop.  This team has a bright future.

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It wouldn't make sense to re-sign Taylor.  Walker Little is perfectly fine at either LT or RT.  

Arden Key was a part-time rotational player and will command too much in the open market.  

Engram is the only "must-sign" pending free agent, but using the franchise tag would be perfectly acceptable. Next year, there are several home-grown players like Josh Allen, Davon Hamilton, Ben Bartch, etc. that should be priority signings.  


Time to be frugal and get some compensatory picks.

There is no way I re-sign Josh Allen next year. We drafted him thinking he was gonna be an elite pass rusher and although he's been good, he's certainly not been the player we thought he'd be. Ever since his rookie year, he's been a letdown. No doubt he's gonna command a very big contract, because edge rushers always get over-inflated deals. I don't want to commit big money to a player who has 1 or 2 big games each year and then disappears for the next 4-5 games at a time. It's time for us to admit, we were wrong about this guy (me included) and move on. That money could be used on better players. I'm hoping we find a stud edge rusher for the foreseeable future in this draft. There are some pretty good ones out there. We just need to finally identify the right one.

Josh Allen was the top-rated defender on the Jags D this year according to PFF, and he was the 11th ranked edge rusher.  You don't let that type of talent and production leave in free agency, especially given the history of the Jags not retaining their top home-grown talent.  I actually wouldn't be surprised if Josh Allen was re-signed this year in order to lower his cap hit in 2023.

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He's not really good. He's good. He's also extremely inconsistent. That's been our problem for a long time on many areas within the defense, inconsistency. It's time to change that. I wouldn't waste cap money on inconsistent players. It's time to start "swinging for the fences" and looking for players we can center this defense around.

---

Should it though? Walker is a 3-4 DE/4-3 DT playing out of position at 3-4 OLB/4-3 DE. Maybe if we actually move him to where he should be playing, we could maximize his potential.

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Which is why I would use 2-3 picks in this draft on O-Linemen. Create competition.

Interesting.  You seem to think the o-line matters.

Yeah reading his posts I had the same thought. I think there's a good chance that's him.

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You don’t franchise a guy in his age 29 season unless you’re ok with sending disgruntled guys into the locker room. You don’t franchise a guy who played on a 1 year prove it deal in good faith and proved it. You’ll never get a guy come here on a 1 year prove it deal again.

You tag guys that are late bloomers and finally produce in the last year of their rookie deals so you can see them do it again before you commit. You tag guys who try to force their way out and have salary expectations outside of reality.

I don’t believe the tag is much of a consideration in this instance. They’ll come to a deal or let him walk. I think he wants to stay and I think they’ll get a deal done, so I seriously doubt it gets to the point of him walking.

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