While talks continue with Scobee, the kicker has publicly noted that he will play under the franchise tag for the season if need be.  He looks forward to getting a deal done with the club but negotiations have been long and are now abutting the league-mandated timeframe for franchise players signing their tenders.  Scobee, along with five other players are holding out on signing the tender in the hopes of getting a better deal than the average pay of the top five players at the position.  Scobee, Cliff Avril, Ray Rice, Dashon Goldson, Dwayne Bowe and Matt Forte all want to see the team make a commitment to them but have yet to be effective in their negotiations.

Seriously, the guy has a little je ne sais qua... Source: Matt Stamey-US PRESSWIRE

Avril, Scobee, and Rice are undoubtedly some of the best in the league right now at their respective positions and are hoping to get paid as such.  Meanwhile, Bowe and Forte are crucial parts of offenses that saw dips in production last season from the 2010 campaign.  The San Francisco 49ers really like safety Goldson and would like to see his capabilities in another year on a defense that surprisingly rocked the playoff field under head coach Jim Harbaugh last year.

Scobee is due $2.88 million in 2012 under the franchise tag.  His agent, who resumed talks with the Jaguars two weeks ago, is not looking for a contract in the top two players the position (Sebastian Janikowski and Phil Dawson who are both at about $4 million for 2012) but would probably like to be paid for the work Scobee does.  Scobee could get a deal similar to that inked by Connor Barth of  Tampa Bay who just signed a deal for $3.3 million per year.  Barth made 93% of field goals in 2011, one point up on Scobee’s 92%.  Matt Prater of the Broncos may be the more probable peg to be matched to Scobee and he just signed a deal for $3.25 million.

A fan favorite and crucial part of a team that struggles on offense, signing Scobee has been a focus of Jaguars fans and the team through the offseason.  We all hope that at some point during the year the two sides can get together.  Until then, it will be the franchise tender for Scobee.

- Luke N. Sims

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Previously on the free agency discussion… We discussed the Jaguars positions of need and the players that could potentially fill those needs. The CBA has (hopefully) been pushed through with a NFLPA* vote expected on Monday, with the last minute squabble being mostly over the new Supplemental Revenue Sharing clause. I’ll be doing an article on Supplemental Revenue Sharing hopefully in the future (its what all Jaguars fans should hope for, intra-league revenue sharing).  The new CBA (if it happens) brings good news for the Jaguars.

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Source: nctimes.com

Free agency is getting closer and closer with the Lockout soon to be lifted. This week, we’ll be checking the pulse of some of the hottest targets at the positions the Jaguars will be shopping for…

• Eric Weddle, San Diego

Who is he? Weddle is considered one of the most complete free safeties in the league, playing very well against the run and pass. He’s only 26 years old, so would not be a “band-aid” or “patch” type signing, instead becoming an instant building block for the back end of the defense. According to ProFootballFocus, he was the #3 ranked overall safety last year and finished the year with 2 INT’s, 8 passes defensed, and 1 sack. Somewhat troubling though were Weddle’s 13 missed tackles, tying him for 4th most amongst safeties.

How does the market for Weddle and other safeties look? How are the Jaguars feeling about each of these prospects? Find out after the jump…

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