The Jacksonville Jaguars' recent recovery from their mid-season slump is a cause for celebration. However, that doesn't mean we have to ignore the team's most glaring areas of improvement.
After a huge win against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football, Jaguars general manager James Gladstone traded cornerback Tyson Campbell and a seventh-round pick to the Cleveland Browns for Greg Newsome and a sixth-round draft choice. Most fans didn't care about the late-round pick swaps and recognized that the franchise was taking a risk to improve the roster in the short-term while also settling a long-term financial problem.
In retrospect, Campbell's underwhelming performance in one-on-one deep ball situations made his $76.5 million contract extension look like an unwise investment. To be fair, Gladstone wasn't the one who drafted the Georgia product in the second round and extended him a few years later. That being said, the head of personnel's solution to the DB's huge deal hasn't paid off at all.
Greg Newsome's debut season with the Jaguars doubles as a critical audition
Greg Newsome did enough in Cleveland to convince Andrew Berry to claim the corner's fifth-year option. However, it's clear the former Northwestern Wildcat failed to meet the standard needed to earn a long-term agreement with the franchise that drafted him.
For whatever reason, Gladstone traded for the struggling defensive back and did so without any promise that Newsome would play at a Pro Bowl level or be interested in staying in Jacksonville after the 2025 season ended. Unfortunately, Newsome's coverage reps since joining the team show that he certainly won't be making any all-star teams this year and probably shouldn't be given a big contract either.
Through seven games in Jax, Newsome has allowed a 61.5 percent completion percentage, a 124.7 passer rating, and four touchdowns in pass coverage. The player's struggles on the field are so notorious that Browns-focused outlets like Dawgs By Nature noticed that he was benched in Weeks 11 and 12. To be honest, Cleveland-related outlets should be celebrating since they've accumulated significant draft capital and a solid starter in the secondary from Jacksonville this year.
What does Newsome's shaky status with the Jaguars mean for James Gladstone?
The trade for Newsome isn't James Gladstone's only whiff this year. However, the young executive originates from an organization that favors an aggressive mindset. The Los Angeles Rams' most recent world championship came after multiple trades for high-impact veteran starters that could help them win as soon as possible. Les Snead's former right-hand man was in the building to witness the process, but he wasn't the one making the final calls himself.
Shad Khan's patience has been praised by members of the national media for years. During the Urban Meyer debacle, reports came out that Khan wouldn't act "impulsively" while determining how he should handle the disgraced Buckeye legend's eventual termination. Gladstone's mistakes this year are nowhere near as bad as Meyer's, so there's no reason to believe that a significant re-adjustment to the franchise's current power structure is in the cards.
Like the players he's drafted, Gladstone will need time to develop into a finished product. He's only 35 years old, and the franchise will have one of the brightest minds in the business for a long time once he figures things out. So, while it's burned the franchise in the past, patiently waiting to see how the new GM handles Newsome moving forward is the best thing the fanbase can do for now.