Prince Amukamara signs one-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars

Prince Amukamara is joining the Jacksonville Jaguars on a ‘prove it’ deal to start opposite Davon House.

While all the ‘splash’ deals are out of the way, the Jacksonville Jaguars are still looking to improve the roster through free agency before they head into the 2016 NFL Draft. One area they needed to shore up was the secondary and they are taking a one-year gamble on former first round pick Prince Amukamara.

Amukamara joins Tashaun Gipson as presumably a new starter in the Jacksonville secondary. This signing is big for the Jaguars for numerous reasons – it allows the team to move Aaron Colvin to the slot where he has excelled over his first two seasons and it keeps general manager David Caldwell from having to find an immediate answer at cornerback in the draft.

Since being drafted in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the New York Giants, Amukamara has flashed big-time cover corner ability when he’s been healthy. The issues is he isn’t always healthy and the Giants opted to pay Janoris Jenkins over keeping Amukamara.

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It’s curious to see the Jaguars giving Amukamara only a one year deal, considering it will be difficult to retain him if he does play well in 2016. The details will emerge eventually, but there’s a chance Amukamara’s camp pushed for the one-year deal so he can rehabilitate his value before looking for a big long-term deal next season.

Regardless, this is a low-risk, high-upside signing by David Caldwell and is exactly the type of move the Jaguars needed to make before the draft.