10 worst free agent signings in Jacksonville Jaguars franchise history

1. Worst free agent signing in Jacksonville Jaguars history: Nick Foles, QB

The Jaguars experienced firsthand the kind of impact the butterfly effect has. Coming off an AFC Championship experience, they gave Blake Bortles a three-year extension despite the fact he played a support role during the 2017 season and the defense did all the dirty work.

Still, the Jaguars had a chance to select Lamar Jackson in the 2018 draft but instead to select Florida defensive tackle Tavon Bryan. These decisions turned out to be costly. Bortles was benched and gone by 2019 and Bryan proved to be a non-factor.

Desperate to clean the mess they made, general manager David Caldwell gave a four-year, $88 million contract in 2019 to Nick Foles, who was the quarterback when the Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl 52.

Foles made the Pro Bowl early in his career and had a couple of fine seasons under Chip Kelly in Philly. However, he wasn’t a top-tier quarterback and his market was lukewarm at best in free agency. Nevertheless, the Jaguars paid him a premium because they wanted to believe that he could wave a magic wand and help them return to the conference championship.

In the end, Foles suited up for a total of four games and completed 77 passes on 117 attempts for 736 yards with three touchdowns. Then-rookie Garder Minshew became the Jaguars starting quarterback and kind of made everyone forget for a moment what a horrible decision it was to pay Foles a king’s ransom.