Jaguars: The CJ Henderson trade shows cracks in rebuild, 2 takeaways

1. The Jacksonville Jaguars shouldn’t have traded CJ Henderson.

C.J. Henderson was far from a shutdown cornerback but he is a solid starter at this point of his career. Moving on from him leaves them with not much depth at the position. Rookie Campbell took his place in the lineup in Week 3. He could stay there and develop into an outside corner but he’s currently a work in progress. Against the Cardinals, the former Georgia Bulldog was targeted six times and allowed 77 yards.

The Jags don’t have much depth behind Shaquill Griffin, and Campbell. Veteran Nevin Lawson, who landed in Jacksonville not long ago, and sophomore Chris Claybrooks are the other cornerbacks on the team’s active roster. Before Jacksonville traded Sidney Jones in the offseason, the position looked like a potential strength. Heading into Week 4, it looks far from great.

Slot cornerback Tre Herndon suffered an MCL injury in the preseason and hasn’t played in this season yet. Maybe the team’s brass believes he’s close to returning, which made them feel comfortable about trading Henderson. It still doesn’t justify the move. The ninth overall pick in the 2020 draft has shown flashes through his career, and even if he turns out to be only a serviceable starter, it leaves the Jags thin at cornerback.

The case could be made that the new regime is trying to “fix” all the mistakes from the previous administration but if that is the case, they should have waited until the end of the season. Parting ways with him after three games is puzzling.