3 Jaguars biggest free-agency blunders of the Trent Balke era

No. 1 Jaguars FA blunder of the Trent Baalke era: Carlos Hyde, RB

At first sight, signing Carlos Hyde last year didn’t look like a bad idea. He had a 1,000-yard season in 2019 and didn’t have significant tread on the tires, so on paper, the Jags had a solid complement to running back James Robinson. Unfortunately, that’s not how things played out in Jacksonville.

Hyde played for Meyer at the college level but Baalke was the general manager of the San Franciso 49ers when they picked him in the second round of the 2014 draft, so it’s easily the team’s brass felt compelled to sign him.

Keep in mind that this wasn’t Hyde’s first stint in Jacksonville. He was traded to the Jags in 2018 and went on to appear in eight games with two starts and rack up 189 yards on 58. Those aren’t impressive numbers but there was a reason to believe he would do better this time.

Not long after re-joining the Jaguars, the former Ohio State Buckeye told the media he was going through a lot the first time around but he was ready to be a leader now and fill whatever role the team needed. Unfortunately, Hyde’s second stint in Jacksonville didn’t go better than the first one.

Besides averaging a paltry 3.9 yards per carry, Meyer wanted Hyde to get playing time over Robinson even though he wasn’t nearly as good. To make matters worse, he suffered a concussion in Week 14 and went on to miss the remainder o the season.

Not surprisingly, Hyde wasn’t brought back in the offseason and currently is a free agent.