Jacksonville Will be “Aggressive” Pursuing Julius Thomas

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With salary cap space expected to reach around $60 million, the Jacksonville Jaguars are likely going to and should be one of the most active teams in free agency this offseason. Despite his frugality over the last 2 offseasons, general manager

isn’t afraid to spend big on premium free agents, as evidenced by his pursuit of

last year.

One of the areas the Jaguars need to upgrade is tight end. Marcedes Lewis has fallen off a noticeable amount, and he is one of the most prominent candidates to be cut this offseason. Given the need, it’s natural for people to connect the Jaguars with the best free agent tight end  – Julius Thomas of the Denver Broncos.

Mike Klis at the Denver Post has essentially confirmed Thomas will be available this offseason, and the Jaguars are one of the teams expected to aggressively pursue the young pass catcher.

"Julius Thomas is an unusual case. The Broncos tried last summer to re-sign the talented tight end to a five-year, $40 million contract extension that would have started in 2015. But he wasn’t comfortable with how the guaranteed money was structured and has decided to test the market…Jacksonville will be among the most aggressive pursuers."

The contract the Broncos offered Thomas last summer is actually a fairly good deal, but some of the specifics derailed their talks. If the Jaguars can offer a similar contract with a guaranteed structure more amenable to Thomas’ desires, they should probably do so. Thomas is exactly what the Jaguars have been looking for in terms of a pass catching tight end, and his presence alone will help open up the field for the young receivers around quarterback Blake Bortles.