Zane Beadles a trade candidate?

The Jacksonville Jaguars had one of the least effective offensive lines in 2014, as evidenced by the league-high 71 sacks allowed. On a line filled with young players, newly signed free agent Zane Beadles was supposed to bring a stabilizing veteran presence. One year into his big contract, Beadles might not even be starting at the beginning of the regular season.

General manager David Caldwell had to make changes to improve the offensive line and one of the moves he made was drafting guard A.J. Cann in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft. Considered by some to warrant a second round grade, Cann’s insertion into the equation immediately brought a question mark to Beadles and his role with the team.

While Beadles and Cann are left to battle it out for the starting left guard spot, the big question is what to do if Beadles does lose out to Cann. The simple response would be to just keep Beadles and use him as a swing guard, but there has been some grumblings about possibly trading him. Dan Hope over at Bleacher Report recently listed Beadles as a player who could still be traded during camp:

"The lone player on this list already on his second NFL contract, Zane Beadles was expected to be the Jacksonville Jaguars’ left guard for years to come when he signed a five-year, $30 million contract with the team last offseason. That status was put in doubt this spring, however, when the Jaguars added multiple interior offensive linemen to their roster…If the Jaguars are ready to move on from Beadles and want the cap savings, they could simply release him. Presumably, though, they should be able to find a team who would at least give up a late-round pick in order to acquire Beadles and upgrade its offensive line."

I really don’t see a scenario where Beadles isn’t on the roster at the start of the regular season. The Jaguars are in no need to save cap room, so releasing him doesn’t make much sense, considering he is at the very least quality depth along the offensive line. On the flip side, it’s hard to envision a team giving up draft assets to take on Beadles and his contract. For a team that was in dire need of improvements in pass protection, it would probably be a red flag for most teams that Beadles couldn’t secure a roster spot on the Jaguars.

This is all moot if Beadles keeps the starting job, which I expect him to do at the beginning of the regular season.

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