Trent Baalke deserves plenty of criticism for his inability to turn the Jacksonville Jaguars into a contender during his stint as the general manager. That said, he had a handful of hits. One of them was getting ahead of the market and giving Tyson Campbell a massive extension in 2024. At the time, the deal was panned because he became one of the highest-paid cornerbacks even though he hadn't played like one. One year later, though, the decision looks much better.
The salary cap keeps going up on a yearly basis and an unexpected increase to the ceiling in 2025 allowed teams to make more splash signings than usual. The issue is that this year's free-agent class wasn't particularly strong, so several clubs paid top-market money for good-not-great players. One of them was Jaycee Horn,
Right at the start of free agency, the Carolina Panthers gave Horn a four-year, $100 million contract. On the one hand, they deserve praise for rewarding their own players. Moreover, a player is worth whatever a team is willing to pay him. That said, you will be hard-pressed to find someone who thinks the former South Carolina Gamecock is a top-10 cornerback, let alone the best in the league.
And that's the thing, the Panthers didn't just give Horn a top-market contract but made him the highest-paid cornerback as well. For comparison, both Carlton Davis and Byron Murphy inked (nearly) identical three-year deals worth $54 million in free agency. They were two of the best corners available in the open market and neither cashed out the way Horn did.
Meanwhile, the Jags gave Campbell a four-year contract worth $76.5 million last offseason. The deal raised eyebrows at the time because it was the highest-ever for a corner that had never made the Pro Bowl or earned a First-Team All-Pro designation.
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The Jaguars expect more from Tyson Campbell
There's no doubt that Tyson Campbell's deal pales in comparison with Jaycee's Horn. Having said that, Campbell has yet to live up to expectations. A second-round pick in 2021, he flashed as a rookie and played like a top-10 cornerback in 2022. However, the former Georgia Bulldog dealt with a myriad of ailments in 2023 that hindered his performance.
Expected to bounce bounce last year, Campbell once again dealt with injuries. He was much better than he was in 2023 but still not nearly as dominant as he was in 2022. That's where the criticism comes in. The Jaguars paid him expecting that he was going to improve but has instead remained stuck in neutral.
Working in Campbell's favor is that he appears to be fully healthy ahead of 2025. Moreover, he'll get a clean slate under defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile. That should allow the former Georgia Bulldog to play like he did in 2022. If he does, there will no longer be doubts about the team's decision to pay him last year.