4 contracts holding the Jacksonville Jaguars back right now

1. Roy Robertson-Harris, defensive end

Scheduled salary for 2024: $ 4.8 M
Potential savings if released: -6.9 M
Dead Money: $11 M

At first sight, it may be a bit odd to see defensive end Roy Robertson-Harris pop up on a list of contracts that are holding the Jaguars back when you take into account that he's set to have a cap hit of $4.8 million next season. However, a closer look shows that his contract doesn't have much room for maneuvering.

Roberston-Harris signed a three-year deal worth $23.4 million in 2021 and later agreed to an extension that keeps him under contract through 2026. Since joining the Jags, RRH has appeared in 47 games with 48 starts tallying 9.5 sacks and 32 tackles for a loss. All things considered, that's solid production. The trouble would come if the Jaguars wanted to move on from him at some point in the next couple years.

His salary goes up to $8.9 million next year. If they were to release him in 2024, they would accelerate prorated money from future years and would leave $11.7 million in dead money. Simply put, it would cost the Jags more to move on from him than keeping him around. Something similar would happen next year. They would create $1.1 million in space and $7.7 million in dead money if they cut him.

The bottom line is that Robertson-Harris' contract is structured in a way that incentivizes the Jaguars to keep him around for the next two years. That's good for him, but not so great for the front office when it looks for ways to get cap relief this offseason.

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