Jacksonville Jaguars adding safety Barry Church, shoring up secondary

The Jacksonville Jaguars are reportedly adding Barry Church in free agency, closing the door on signing Johnathan Cyprien and, possibly, taking a safety in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

The report that the Jacksonville Jaguars have agreed to a four-year deal worth more than $6 million per year with safety Barry Church should be celebrated. The Jags had a hole at the position and weren’t willing to cough up huge money to fill it.

And the six million per year may be well spent on Church. Since becoming a full time starter in 2013, Church has five interceptions, 16 passes defensed, seven fumbles forced, and 330 tackles. That’s some solid production from Church and will instantly improve the Jags secondary.

For comparison, Johnathan Cyprien (hitting the market on Thursday) had two interceptions, 15 passes defensed, four fumbles forced, two fumbles recovered, two sacks, and 339 tackles. Church has made bigger plays in that same time period and can be relied upon to do so while Cyprien has struggled to be more than just a guy on the defense.

The upgrade to Church is in no way the best possible solution at the position, but it is still an upgrade. While there was some consensus that Jamal Adams would be the Jags’ top pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, with Church on the roster the Jags can afford to get a bit more creative defensively and in the draft.. Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union hinted at that in a tweet following a chat with an NFL assistant:

The Jags will still have to search for further pieces in the secondary, especially at cornerback, but if the deal holds true, Church will help immensely.  The Jags are already making solid moves, having already re-signed guard Patrick Omameh the day before.