5 Jacksonville Jaguars with big contract implications this year

The Jacksonville Jaguars entered the 2022 offseason with plenty of cap space and they spent most of it in free agency. But they’re currently $18.5 million in the red for 2023, per Over the Cap, so it would be a good idea to restructure a few contracts and extend a few players in the upcoming months.

While the team’s brass could wait until 2023 to start contract talks, they might want to go ahead and take care of some of them as soon as possible. With that in mind, here are five Jaguars with big contract implications this year.

No. 5 Jaguars player with big contract implications: CJ Beathard, QB

The Jaguars signed a good backup quarterback in C.J. Beathard last offseason and they got him at an affordable rate, a two-year deal worth $5 million. While the former Iowa Hawkeye hardly saw the field in 2021, he was effective when he did, completing two passes for 33 yards in relief of Trevor Lawrence in Week 9.

The Jaguars re-signed Jake Luton earlier this year after waiving him before the start of the 2021 season. They also signed E.J. Perry out of Brown as an undrafted free agent but neither of them seems like a viable option at quarterback right now. Maybe one of them can impress the coaching staff during training camp and back Trevor Lawrence up in 2023 but if neither stands out, the Jags might be better off bringing Beathard back.

Barring injury to Lawrence, Beathard won’t play much again. He’s currently nursing a hamstring injury but should be back for training camp. And if he does everything he needs to do during meetings and practices, the Jaguars may feel inclined to re-sign him before the end of the 2022 season.

The fact that Beathard might come cheap, even if he gets a salary bump, might incentivize general manager Trent Baalke to renew his deal.