One of the biggest storylines involving the Jacksonville Jaguars in recent months is whether they'll extend Parker Washington before the regular season. The fourth-year receiver is eligible for a new deal and scheduled to become a free agent in 2027, and the longer the Jags wait to pay him, the more money they'll probably have to fork out.
Compounding the issue is that a handful of receivers in the same tier as Washington have already cashed in. This leaves Jacksonville in a tricky spot.
The Jaguars are facing a tough situation with the Parker Washington extension
Pete Prisco of CBS Sports just made an appearance on 1010 XL. He says the Jaguars have a dilemma with Parker Washington, arguing that they'd like to get a deal done but may not be willing to overpay.
"Well, I think you know the team would like to extend, particularly Washington and Strange. They'd like to do it, but they're not going to get out of whack with the money that they're going to offer them," Prisco said (10:45 mark). "And really, when you look at his Parker Washington, he was a, he was a great player last year, but really, how long has he done it? And so, what's the give them what you paid to Jakobi Meyers?"
Prisco continued, "I don't think, and so you got to go. Okay, well, let's offer them what, $18 million/$17 million, somewhere, and see if he takes it, and if he doesn't take it, he's rolling the dice, and because here's why you look at that offense, they drafted that tight end, and this fifth round there is also looking really well, good as you guys know, so there's not going to be as many balls to go around when you're in two tight ends, that means only two receivers on the field."
This leads Prisco to argue that Washington may not see the field as much due to the presence of Jakobi Meyers and Brian Thomas.
"So who's going to be on the field? Brian Thomas is playing like he did last week in mini camp and all throughout the OTAs, he's probably going to be on the field. Where's Myers? Where's Washington? So the catches might go down, the production might go down a little bit. So if you're Parker Washington, you got to be careful with what you do with an offer," Prisco said.
Liam Coen has stated that he wants Washington to run more vertical routes, and after his breakout season, it's hard to see him getting a prominent role on offense. Having said that, Prisco does raise valid points.
The Jaguars need to extend Parker Washington but won't overpay
Parker Washington isn't a one-year wonder. He's consistently shown progress dating back to his rookie campaign, so he should be able to pick up where he left off last year. But if Brian Thomas Jr. truly bounces back and Jakobi Meyers remains an offensive mainstay, it's fair to wonder just what kind of statline Washington will produce.
And that's the thing, the Jaguars may be willing to pay Washington $17 million or $18 million, but if he wants more than $20 million (a real possibility), it may make no sense to pay top-market money to a receiver who may not ultimately get a prominent role.
Keep in mind that tight end Brenton Strange is also around, and he'll get his fair share of targets. Similarly, rookie Nate Boerkircher is expected to be a big offensive piece. And that's without taking Travis Hunter into account.
When you add it all up, the Jaguars may not want to exceed their budget with Parker Washington. There's no doubt that he's a mainstay of the offense, but he's far from the only contributor.
From Washington's perspective, if they can't touch base, betting on himself and getting a better offer next year, from the Jags or another team, may be the best course of action.
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