Jacksonville Jaguars 2023 free agency predictions: RT Jawaan Taylor walks

2. Jacksonville Jaguars WR Marvin Jones Jr. won’t return in 2023

Back in 2021, the Jaguars acquired several players in free agency that were pivotal to their turnaround last season. Safety Rayshawn Jenkins was one of them and wide receiver Marvin Jones was another. One difference between the two was that Jenkins had a bounceback year after underachieving in 2021 while Jones had an impact right off the bat.

Jones became the Jags’ No. 1 receiver in 2021 and finished the year with 73 receptions for 832 yards with four touchdowns. However, he had a decreased role last year after the arrival of Christian Kirk and Zay Jones. While the former Cal Bear still manage to catch 46 receptions for 529 yards with three touchdowns in 2022, there might no longer be room for him in Jacksonville.

The front office traded for Calvin Ridley last year and he’s been officially reinstated. Given that the Jaguars will need to accommodate his $11.116 million salary for the 2023 season on top of paying the other Jones and Kirk, it will be challenging to bring back Marvin Jones.

The silver lining is that Jones can still play at a high level and could be a superb WR2 for teams in need of weapons, so he should be in demand in free agency. Jakobi Meyers and JuJu Smith-Schuster and maybe Odell Beckham Jr. will be the top three receivers available in the open market but teams that want more bang for their buck should target Jones instead.