5 worst moves Jaguars’ GM Trent Baalke has made in Jacksonville

If you took a break from social media for a few days and just logged in, you will see fans of the Jacksonville Jaguars have changed their AVI for that of a clown with a mustache. So what’s up with that and the hashtags #FireBaalke and #KhlowOut? The first one is self-explanatory, Jaguars fans aren’t happy that owner Shad Khan intends on keeping Trent Baalke as their general manager instead of starting over after firing Urban Meyer. The second one was a product of the decision to keep Baalke but it goes beyond that.

Fans are tired of getting a subpar product week in and week out. Over the last ten years, the Jags have had just one winning season (2017), and as great as it was to see Jacksonville play in the AFC Championship, that was five years ago. Sure, there have been flashes every now and then but not enough to consistently win games.

While you could make the argument Baalke may not have been as bad and has had his fair share of hits. But he has also had several misses, and here are his five worst during his tenure with the Jaguars, both as the director of player personnel and as the general manager.

Jaguars GM Trent Baalke’s big mistake No. 1 – Mishandling the TE position.

It took the Jags several chances to get the tight end position right and they eventually acquired Dan Arnold from the Carolina Panthers but they would have saved themselves plenty of time and effort if they had signed him in free agency to begin with.

After trading Josh Oliver and declining the team’s option on Tyler Eifert’s contract, the Jaguars signed Chris Manhertz as a free agent and selected Luke Ferrell in the fifth round of the 2021 draft. Both players have a combined 12 receptions this season. The team’s brass later signed Jacob Hollister but he’s been inactive for several games and hasn’t had an impact when he’s suited up. James O’Shaughnessy, who came back on a one-year contract, is a solid player but far from a true number one tight end.

O’Shaughnessy has played well in Arnold’s absence, so there’s that. But the Jaguars could have handled their need at tight end better.