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
2. Zay Jones, wide receiver
Availability is an NFL player's most important attribute. You can have all the talent in the world but it won't matter if you cannot get to the football field. This is a long-winded way to say that wide receiver Zay Jones has fallen short of expectations in 2023. A second-round pick by the Buffalo Bills in 2017, he spent a couple seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders before joining the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2022.
At the time, Jones' signing raised lots of eyebrows because he got a top-market contract but he had tallied more than 800 yards in a season just once in his career. While a player is worth as much as a club is willing to pay him, it felt like general manager Trent Baalke had overpaid him, along with Christian Kirk.
Jones put to rest all criticism to rest when he became a key cog on the Jacksonville offense. In his first season donning the Black and Teal, the former East Carolina Pirate set new career bests for catches and receptions in a season. He was expected to be much better in 2023 but knee and hamstring injuries have hampered his performance.
One year after reeling in 82 receptions for 823 yards with five touchdowns, he may not even get to 300 yards. He's currently at 274 with one game to go. However you look at it, that's a dramatic dip in production.
Jones is set to have a cap hit of $11.01 million in 2024 but the Jags can create $4.4 million in space with $6.569 million in dead money if they cut ties with him. Based on how he's played, it's a possiblity.