Jaguars: Waiting to re-sign DJ Chark may be best thing for everyone

Free agency is quickly approaching and the Jacksonville Jaguars need to decide which of their own free agents they’re going to keep. That’s not the only decision the Black and Teal have to make this offseason though. They also need to determine if they want to give wide receiver DJ Chark Jr., who is entering the last year of his rookie deal, a contract extension, but do they really have to do it now? Can’t it wait until next offseason?

Demetrius Harvey of Big Cat Country believes the Jaguars should go ahead and re-sign Chark. He argues that this is not the first thing the team finds itself in this situation, as they went through a similar experience with wide receiver Allen Robinson in 2017. At that time, they had the chance to lock up the Penn State product but opted to let him walk in free agency in 2018.

Robinson had a dominant season in 2015, hauling in 80 receptions for 1,400 yards and 14 touchdowns. However, he caught just 73 passes for 883 yards and eight touchdowns the following year and missed all but one game in 2017.

The Jaguars probably thought Robinson’s best years were behind him and decided against giving him a new contract. In retrospect, they made the wrong decision (even though they may have a chance to bring him back), as he signed a three-year deal with the Chicago Bears and went on to haul in 255 receptions for 3,151 yards and 17 touchdowns. Should this Jacksonville team repeat the same mistake?