Depending on which NFL execs are asked, there are varying thoughts on the Jacksonville Jaguars' approach to free agency.
As GM James Gladstone said following the first wave of free agency, which included nine signings for the Jaguars, his goal was to raise the floor of the roster at this stage of the offseason, which he believes was accomplished.
Mike Sando of The Athletic recently got insight into what some NFL executives think of the Jaguars' offseason up to this point. And as I said initially, thoughts are mixed.
“They signed OK players to good-sized deals, and I do not believe in free agency like that,” one exec said to Sando. “If you are going to do that, go the Chargers’ route. Sit and wait and go for one-year contracts.”
Another exec would say that the Jaguars' deal for wide receiver Dyami Brown was an overpay.
However, on the flip side, another exec was a fan of how the Jaguars went about addressing their needs.
“You are always going to overpay in free agency, but they did not commit gross overpays,” another exec told Sando. “You saw them go right to the second tier of the offensive line market and say, ‘We can get this guy for $10-12 million a year instead of this other guy for $16 million.”
I very much agree with the second executive. The market is what the market is, and for a Jaguars team that is coming off a four-win season and making schematic changes on both sides of the football, roster turnover was needed.
However, in doing that, in no way did they sacrifice much, if any, salary cap flexibility in the short or long term. According to Over the Cap, the Jaguars still rank 12th in cap space available this season and they are 18th in 2026.
None of the deals that the Jaguars made will prevent them from doing business down the road, nor impact how they approach the positions that they did address in the NFL draft.
“What Jacksonville did was get a couple tough, smart guys on the line whose talent is limited, but they are the types of guys they need,” an exec said to Sando.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: NFL free agency: NFL execs weigh in on Jaguars offseason signings
