5 Jacksonville Jaguars potential salary-cap casualties in 2023

No. 4 Jaguars potential salary-cap causality: Roy Robertson-Harris, DL

Dead cap figure – $2.3 million

Potential cap savings – $7.8 million

After hardly signing any players in 2020, the Jaguars took a different approach last year and added several free agents. While they didn’t target any of the top players available, they did hand out a few big contracts, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

Cornerback Shaquill Griffin got the biggest contract of all the free agents the Jaguars signed, followed by safety Rayshawn Jenkins and defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris. All of them ended up getting featured roles in 2021 and started a combined 41 games. In particular, Robertson-Harris made 13 starts and played 60 percent of the team’s defensive snaps, which set a career-high. He finished the season with 37 total tackles, four tackles for a loss, and three sacks.

Although Robertson-Harris posted a subpar Pro Football Focus run defense grade of 42.1, he got a 68.0 pass-rushing mark and logged 35 total pressures. He should see an uptick in production in his second year in Jacksonville under defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell. Nevertheless, he’s slated to count $10 million over the cap in 2023, and releasing him would free up $7.8 million in cap room with a manageable $2.3 million in dead money.

The Jaguars have allocated plenty of money to their defensive front these past two years, giving defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi a three-year deal worth $30 million in free agency. Ultimately, Jacksonville might not be able to afford both Robertson-Harris and Fatukasi, which makes the former a prime candidate to get his walking papers in 2023.