Jacksonville Jaguars are well below the spending minimum, announces NFLPA

The Jacksonville Jaguars have to make a handful of moves this offseason to make themselves more competitive and those moves need to begin in March when free agency finally starts. For the last 3 season, general manager David Caldwell has shown remarkable and calculated restraint in free agency, only signing low-key free agents to prove it deals with the occasional “splash” guy.

Of the free agents Caldwell has signed in his 3 offseasons, only 5 averaged more than $5 million per year – Jared Odrick, Julius Thomas, Jermey Parnell, Davon House, and Zane Beadles. That’s unheard of for a team that has had a plethora of cap space to hold back so much in free agency.

That frugality has to come to a head however, as the NFLPA recently announced the Jaguars are well below the cash spending minimum. And in an almost cosmic and fitting pairing, the Oakland Raiders join the Jaguars as the only other team below the minimum.

"The Oakland Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars are the only two NFL teams below the 89 percent cash spending required by next year, and they are significantly under the minimum, the players’ union said Thursday…The Jacksonville Jaguars are $28 million short of the collectively bargained requirements, Smith added…Jacksonville has planned for 2016 and ’17 to be heavy spending years after trying to build a base in the draft."

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What was originally a 3-year plan has somehow become a 5-year plan, but the logic for Caldwell’s patience is sound. A good GM is going to believe in his draft choices, so naturally it makes sense to make room to re-sign the players who do develop.

"“The philosophy is you’ve got to look, at least for us, not this year but next year. We have some very key guys on our team that are going to be free agents or going to be in their third year and able to redo their contracts.”-General manager David Caldwell"

All that said, the Jaguars absolutely HAVE to spend a sizable amount of money this offseason.

There aren’t any players who are up for new contracts (although the team could potentially lock up Allen Hurns thanks to his status as an undrafted free agent).

The team needs to work their way up to the spending minimum.

Most importantly, the team has to win if Caldwell and head coach Gus Bradley want to have jobs in 2017.

Expect the Jaguars to make a more than a few key signings in the coming months.

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