Jaguars: Don't be too quick on spending trigger

Florida Times-Union sports columnist Gene Frenette offers his weekly perspective on various sports topics for jacksonville.com This is his entry for Thursday February 28.


The NFL free-agency market opens up at midnight and my message for the Jaguars this year is to tread carefully. Just because the team has $32-35 million in salary cap space doesn't mean they should go out on a lavish shopping spree.

Among the fans' favorite things to do is spend a team's money because they often think a championship is just a purchase or two away. The mindset usually goes something like this: "If we could just get that big-time receiver or a guy that can get after the quarterback, we'll be in the Super Bowl next year." Oh, really. Here's my response: "When's the last time a Jaguars' free agent signing had that kind of impact?"

The Jaguars have signed 51 unrestricted free agents in their 13-year history and I can count on one hand the guys that were real difference-makers. Here they are in order of the value they brought to the club: (1) receiver Keenan McCardell; (2) linebacker Mike Peterson; (3) offensive tackle Leon Searcy; (4) guard Chris Naeole; (5) defensive tackle Gary Walker.

That's not a long and distinguished list. But when it comes to spending money on free agents that never lived up to their value, just as many flops come to mind. Starting with Hugh Douglas, Bryce Paup, Carnell Lake, Shawn Bouwens, Kelvin Pritchett and Patrick Johnson. Shawn who? Patrick who? Yeah, that's what I mean. They were so irrelevant, you don't even remember them.

The point is that free agent shopping is really more about getting value for each signee than throwing a bunch of money at one or two players. It's no secret that a pass-rusher and a wide receiver are the Jaguars' two greatest needs this offseason, but when you look at what's reasonably attainable on the market, it's pretty slim pickings. Randy Moss is a great receiver, but it's highly doubtful that Jacksonville would be his first choice unless they threw so much money at him that he couldn't turn it down. If you're going to severely dent your salary cap for one player, better make it a quarterback or someone entrusted with sacking the quarterback.

After Moss, there's Chicago Bear Bernard Berrian, who is somewhat of an intriguing prospect, but at what price? He may command bigger money than the production on his resume suggests, so be careful about overspending because you have a need at a position that can easily be filled with as low as a second-day draft pick. I like Berrian, but I'd have to like his price tag as well.

On the pass-rushing front, the cupboard is pretty thin with the franchise tags placed on Terrell Suggs (Baltimore Ravens) and Jared Allen (Kansas City Chiefs). There's the Cincinnati Bengals' Justin Smith, but he's more of a run-stuffing defensive end than a sack artist. There's been some talk about pursuing the Tennessee Titans' Travis LaBoy, but he's not Kyle Vanden Bosch.

Good free agent acquisition is all about matching your need without killing your future budget. That's not to say some guys are not worth paying top dollar, but you have to keep those kind of purchases to a minimum. The good NFL teams win consistently by investing money in their own proven players, not throwing money at other players whose teams let them walk into free agency.

There are exceptions, but on the whole, teams tend to get under the market value for unrestricted free agents than equal or above the value they paid for them.

So the message to the Jaguars this year, as in most years, is buyer beware.



The Jaguars granting permission to three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Marcus Stroud to seek a trade, which became public knowledge when agent Drew Rosenhaus mentioned it on ESPN Thursday morning, is a stunning development, but it may not be the total downer that it appears on paper.

No doubt, Stroud has been one of the Jaguars' premium defensive players in franchise history. Along with twin tower sidekick John Henderson, that twosome represents one of the most fierce tackle tandems in the entire NFL in recent memory. On the surface, the former University of Georgia standout wanting out of Jacksonville is a surprise because he's a small-town Georgia guy that enjoyed playing not so far from his home in Barney, which is only 20 miles from Valdosta.

Obviously, Stroud is unhappy or he wouldn't be making this request. He still has three years remaining on the lucrative contract extension he signed in April, 2005, which will pay him $5 million this season, followed by $5.5 million in 2009 and $6 million in 2010.

Losing Stroud would be a blow to the Jaguars' defense, but it's not as devastating a loss as it would have been two years ago when he was at the top of his game. Stroud, who turns 30 in June, had microfracture surgery on his right ankle last offseason and was still a good player in 2007, but not at the level he was from 2003-05 when he was a Pro Bowler. Plus, he missed four games due to suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy, which he blamed on a tainted supplement provided by a doctor.

While Stroud was out, backup Rob Meier, one of the most underrated players in Jaguars' history, filled in admirably and his presence would help soften the blow of possibly losing Stroud. However, no team can ever have enough quality defensive linemen, so the Jaguars and Jack Del Rio would have to address the critical loss of depth in that area with Stroud out of the picture.

If Stroud is traded, look for the Jaguars to make up for his loss immediately, either through free agency, the draft or in what they might fetch in return for Stroud. The Detroit Lions' Shaun Rogers, who ironically signed what was then the biggest NFL contract for a defensive tackle just three months before Stroud's extension, is being shopped around by the Lions. He's one year younger than Stroud and also a massive load at 6-foot-4, 345 pounds.


A solid 77-64 win for the Florida Gators' basketball team Wednesday night at Georgia because it kept Billy Donovan's team from losing valuable leverage in their quest for a 10th consecutive NCAA tournament bid.

With home games coming up against Mississippi State and Tennessee next Wednesday, followed by the last regular season game at Kentucky, two more wins would almost certainly lock up a spot for UF (21-7, 8-5 in the SEC) in the Big Dance no matter what happens in the SEC tournament.

Florida might be able to squeeze in with just one more victory, but that'd be awfully risky because three or four at-large bids could vanish in conference tournaments. Upsets in several league tourneys that would normally get just one or two bids, like a Conference USA, WAC or Horizon, could eliminate some teams that are now being pencilled in as No. 10, 11 or 12 seeds.