4 Jacksonville Jaguars who robbed the team blind in 2023
• Many of them delivered but these 4 failed short of expectations
• Even worse, they were well-compensated for their services
The Jacksonville Jaguars entered the 2023 season with high expectations. They delivered early on, going 6-2 before their BYE. However, things took a turn for the worse in the second half, and they just mustered three wins. The Jags are still 9-7 and have a chance at finishing with a better record than last year. However, they may have been much better if they had taken a different approach in the offseason.
Instead of keep hoaring talent, the team's brass trusted several players to take a leap and limited themselves to hand out extensions to core contributors, such as tight end Evan Engram, defensive end Roy Robertson-Harris and defensive lineman DaVon Hamilton. It didn't work.
Injuries exposed that team's depth and lack of talent across the roster. It didn't help that several players were expected to have a big impact but came up short. In particular, these four were paid handsomely but their production wasn't proportional to their salary.
4. Dawuane Smoot, defensive end
Dawuane Smoot had been an important piece of the defensive front in previous seasons but he's mostly been a non-factor this season. He spent the offseason recovering from an Achilles injury he sustained late in 2022. Still, the front office was confident enough in him that he would make a full recovery that they gave him a one-year with a base value of $3.5 million with $2.5 million guaranteed.
All Smoot has to show for is one sack and 10 total tackles. It's true that he's not fully healthy and he's been a fixture of the team but the Jaguars could've also had Jadeveon Clowney, who's having a banner year with the Baltimore Ravens, but chose to go with the devil they knew. Heck, they could've inked both Smoot and Clowney but that falls on the front office. Either way, it's fair to say that Smoot hasn't had the impact the team envisioned.
With the benefit of a full offseason to get back in shape, Smoot could bounce back in 2024. However, he may not be able to do it in Jacksonville.
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