Aidan Hutchinson's deal just exposed massive Jaguars blunder under Trent Baalke

During his stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Trent Baalke made his fair share of blunders. Sure, he also had a few hits, but not enough to make up for the misses. That's why he was given the boot after the 2024 season despite the fact that owner Shad Khan originally wanted to retain him.

Circling back to one Baalke mistake that isn't discussed nearly enough was when he waited to pay Josh Hines-Allen. He ultimately gave the Pro Bowl pass rusher a four-year contract deal worth $142.5 million.

At the time, the deal looked like a bargain: Hines-Allen was coming off a season in which he posted a franchise-best 17.5 sacks. The expectation was that he was going to keep playing at a high level. However, the Jags haven't got But fast forward to 2025, and the contract doesn't look nearly as great, especially in light of the monster extension that Aidan Hutchinson got.

The deal the Jaguars gave Josh Hines-Allen doesn't currently look great

Aidan Hutchinson just got a four-year extension worth $180 million with $140 million in guaranteed money, making him the second-highest-paid pass rusher, only behind Micah Parsons, in the NFL.

All things considered, the contract reflects his status as one of the top defenders in the league, especially when you take into account that he's back to being his dominant self after suffering a broken tibia and fibula in 2024.

Not long after Hutchinson signed his new contract, the 33rd Team posted a picture on social media that included the highest-paid pass rushers as of the 2025 season. Usual names popped up: Micah Parsons, Maxx Crosby, Myles Garrett, Danielle Hunter, and T.J. Watt.

Also on the list was Josh Hines-Allen, whose annual average of $28.5 million per year ranks ninth among pass rushers. The issue is that he's not nearly as dominant as his peers. Sure, a player is worth whatever a team is willing to pay him. That said, Hines-Allen's production hasn't been on par with the contract the Jaguars gave him in 2024.

Dating back to last year, the former Kentucky Wildcat has posted a measly 7.5 sacks, all of them in 2024. This season, he's logged 33 total pressures (good for seventh among pass rushers) but no sacks. For comparison, Crosby has 11.5 sacks in the same span and missed five games last year. Garrett and Parsons have 24 and 18.5, respectively.

Now, sacks aren't the only way to measure a pass rusher's success or lack thereof, but the best ones usually have a high tally. Now, Hines-Allen hasn't been dreadful. He's been solid, and his stats don't always pop off the stat sheet. On the other hand, he's being paid to make game-changing plays and hasn't had nearly enough since signing his deal.

Trent Baalke fumbled the Josh Hines-Allen negotiations

By now, you may be wondering what Trent Baalke has to do in all this. After all, Travon Walker is more likely to surface in conversations involving Aidan Hutchinson. But that's a discussion for another day. After all, Walker has been nearly as dominant as Hutchinson, but he's no slouch either, registering 22 sacks dating back to 2023.

Circling back to Hines-Allen, Baalke had the opportunity to lock him up in 2023. Had he done it, the two-time Pro Bowl pass rusher might have accepted a deal that would've paid him around $17 million to $20 million per year.

In Baalke's defense, Hines-Allen had not done enough up until 2022 to earn a top-market contract, but because he didn't operate with a sense of urgency, he had to first apply the franchise tag on him and later pay a premium for his services. That series of decisions had an unintended consequence.

Because the Jaguars used the franchise tag on Hines-Allen in 2024, they couldn't tag Calvin Ridley, and he ended up hitting the open market even though Jacksonville wanted to keep him around. For a brief moment, it looked like Ridley and the Jags were going to get something done, but the Tennessee Titans swooped in with a better offer and poached him.

Had the Jaguars inked Hines-Allen before free agency in 2024, they might've had a chance to also sign Ridley. When you add it all up, Baalke simply didn't know how to approach the situation.

And even more than a year after Trent Baalke was kicked to the curb, the Jaguars are still feeling his puzzling decision-making.