General manager Trent Baalke has been under plenty of scrutiny the past two years and rightfully so. While there were many reasons the Jacksonville Jaguars failed to make the playoffs in 2023, he most definitely played a big role. His dearth of urgency to address needs last year left the roster devoid of depth. To make matters worse, he failed to hold himself accountable for his shortcomings and instead pointed fingers.
Granted, Baalke has had his fair share of hits, but his misses held the team back last year. His success in later rounds of the draft hasn't been something to write home about. Similarly, he's had a handful of duds in free agency, and these four have surely left a stain on his resume.
4. Chandler Brewer, offensive guard (2023)
An undrafted free agent in 2019, Chandler Brewer has had an unremarkable NFL career. He spent four seasons with the Los Angeles Rams and even won a Super Bowl ring but he played 13 games with four starts before joining the Jags last year.
Now, nobody expected Brewer to turn into an All-Pro guard, so it's not particularly surprising that he only appeared in three special teams snaps in 2023. The issue is that there was a deep pool of offensive linemen in free agency but Trent Baalke refused to bolster the interior of the offensive trenches. Had he made a couple of additions besides Brewer last year, the Jaguars would've had depth and competition up front, two things they lacked last year.
Baalke could've easily gone after Dalton Risner, who remained unsigned for months, Will Hernandez or even Nate Herbig. The point is that having options to fortify the offensive line, the embattled general manager stayed put, hoping things were going to be fine. They didn't, and Trevor Lawrence got pummeled throughout the year.
3. Carlos Hyde, running back (2021)
After going 1-15, it was hard to picture the Jaguars sinking even lower but they managed to pull off the feat after hiring Urban Meyer as their head coach. Instead of running a proper search to fill the vacancy left by Doug Marrone, owner Shad Khan went out of his way to court Meyer. This led him to ignore the massive red flags that came with him.
Contrary to what he said when he got the job, Meyer had not conducted detailed research on the NFL. He was under the impression that he could call the old gang and the Jaguars would suddenly turn into a contender.
Among the players Meyer brought in was Tim Tebow, who showed right off the bat why he hadn't gotten a chance in the NFL in nearly 10 years. That said, Trent Baalke didn't have much of a say in the decision to bring Tebow aboard and he didn't even make the 53-man roster, so he didn't make the cut on this list. Moreover, his jersey was among the top sellers during the summer of 2021, and that must account for something, right?
That said, Baalke should get part of the blame for co-signing the acquisition of another Meyer protegee, running back Carlos Hyde. Sure, Meyer coached him at Ohio State, but Baalke drafted him when he was the general manager for the San Francisco 49ers.
Let's not forget this wasn't Hyde's first stint in Jacksonville. He had previously played eight games for the Jaguars in 2018. When he signed in 2021, he said he was immature back in 2018 but things didn't go much different the second time around.
Besides averaging an underwhelming 3.5 yards per carry, Hyde only got playing time because Meyer wanted him on the field. Had there been a different coach and general manager in place that year, Hyde wouldn't have probably signed with the Jags.
2. Shaquille Griffin, cornerback (2021)
The Jaguars wanted to retool their roster in 2021 without paying top-market money. This strategy made sense when you take into account that they had plenty of needs on both sides of the ball. The trouble with the approach is that they ended up bringing in good-not-great players. One of them was cornerback Shaquill Griffin.
When Griffin signed with the Jags, cornerback was one of their biggest needs. Having made the Pro Bowl in 2019, he looked like a good fit. Looking back, his first season in Jacksonville wasn't necessarily bad, especially when you factor in the Urban Meyer debacle. In a year in which not many things went right, the former UCF Knight routinely showed his leadership skills. More often than not, he would show face and meet with the local media after a loss.
On the field, Griffin gave up a respectable 11.8 yards per reception and a career-low three touchdowns at that point. Expected to be even better once Doug Pederson took over in 2022, the Florida native suffered a back injury in the offseason that hindered his performance and eventually landed him on Injured Reserve.
Griffin was given the boot after the 2022 season and spent 10 games with the Houston Texans before getting released. He joined the Carolina Panthers near the end of 2023 but failed to do much of note. Had he been a depth move, nobody would've questioned the Griffin signing but the Jags gave him a three-year deal worth $44.5 million and didn't get a solid return on their investment.
1. Folorunso Fatukasi, defensive tackle (2022)
After going after mid-tier free agents in 2021, the Jaguars spared no expenses the following year. That aggressiveness helped them make the playoffs and win the AFC South for the first time in 2017. On top of that, a few of the players they signed — Christian Kirk, Evan Engram, and Foyesade Oluokun — have become building blocks. However, not all the signings had the same impact.
Cornerback Darious Wiliams had a Pro Bowl-caliber season in 2023, but he was just released in a cap-saving move. Similarly, the Jaguars paid veteran guard Brandon Scherff a premium but he hasn't been nearly as dominant as he was during his seven-year stint with the Washington Commanders. But the worst of the bunch was without a doubt Folorunso Fatukasi.
When they gave him a three-year deal worth $30 million, the Jags thought they were getting a player in the mold of Vince Wilfork, a nose tackle that could collapse the pocket and clog up running lanes. Unfortunately, he left much to be desired the past two years. Leaving aside that he routinely dealt with injuries, he wasn't great at creating pressure and also struggled against the run.
Especially in the second half of 2023, opposing offenses had no trouble pounding the ball, and one big reason was Fatukasi. Sure, the rest of the defense missed tackles at a concerning rate, but the Jaguars' front four would've been much better if Fatukasi had performed the way he was expected.
To nobody's surprise, Fatukasi was cut after two underwhelming seasons. While the Jags only got $3.5 million in cap space, releasing him allows them to look for a nose tackle that can actually create havoc at the line of scrimmage. Basically, you could say that his departure is addition by subtraction.