Justin Houston Tagged By Chiefs, Not an Option for Jags
By Luke Sims
Justin Houston was just franchise tagged by the Kansas City Chiefs, giving the team a longer window to sign a long-term deal with their star pass rusher.
Why is this relevant to the Jacksonville Jaguars, you might ask?
Well, it’s no secret that the Jags could use some pass rushing help, especially from a player who can consistently create pressure on every down and help the defensive line and the secondary out. It’s most likely that this need will be filled during the 2015 NFL Draft, either with an early pick like Dante Fowler Jr. or with one of the other quality options available.
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But I won’t put anything past GM Dave Caldwell. He’s playing his cards close to his vest, revealing virtually nothing about what he plans to do.
Will he be a player for Ndamukong Suh
despite having quality defensive tackles already on the team?
What about adding a running back
even with Toby Gerhart and Denard Robinson? We’ll never really know what is going on in the Jags’ GM’s mind. Many of us were shocked by the Blake Bortles selection in the first round last year, so I wouldn’t be surprised to pull another dramatic flourish out this year.
The 2015 NFL Draft is stacked with talent at pass rushing positions, but there is nothing quite like signing a dependable, proven talent to your roster. The Jags are looking to move back in the NFL draft to acquire more picks to fill many of their holes, but don’t expect them to slough off free agency either.
This is why it is relevant, and a tad disappointing (even if it was anticipated) to see Justin Houston taken off the market through the franchise tag. It’s always nice to see another possibility sitting there for the Jags, especially since virtually any player is an option with their massive cap space. At this point, we should all be congratulating the Chiefs for holding onto a quality pass rusher en route to completing a bigger, long-term deal with him. For us Jags fans, however, it’s onto hoping the team can get another quality rusher either through the draft (which seems more likely) or through free agency.