The Jacksonville Jaguars entered the 2022 offseason needing to urgently upgrade their wide receiver unit for second-year quarterback Trevor Lawrence. General manager Trent Baalke and head coach Doug Pederson did their best to add weapons like wide receivers Christian Kirk, Zay Jones, and tight end Evan Engram even though the team lacks a true WR1 still.
Jones met with the local media late last week and said he’s excited to join Jacksonville as he said the Jaguars are a franchise on the rise. He signed a three-year, $24-million deal with $14 million guaranteed during the first week of free agency.
So far throughout his career, he said he has been blessed to be a part of some important moments for both organizations he was a part of to start his career, like breaking Buffalo’s playoff drought, and playing the Raiders’ last game in Oakland and their first one in Las Vegas.
“And to now come here and be a part of an organization that is on the rise and moving forward, I just feel very fortunate and blessed to be a part of it,” Jones said about signing with the Jaguars.
Jones has only had two seasons with over 45 catches during his six-year career split between the Bills and Raiders. In 2021, he hauled in 47 passes for 546 yards and one touchdown, averaging 11.6 yards per catch.
The former East Carolina University Pirate said he brings versatility to Pederson’s offense and spoke highly of Lawrence.
“Ultimately, I think the best thing is just the character of a teammate,” Jones said. “Just try to be the best teammate that I can possibly be. Just be one of the guys, enjoy it. As far as Trevor [Lawrence] is concerned though, [he’s] tall, powerful, can throw, can run, has all the intangibles, very promising.”
The Jaguars added some significant weapons this offseason but still need an outside threat that can burn defenders with his speed or beat them over the top for tough contested catches. Kirk and Jones are nice additions that shouldn’t drop as many passes as the Jaguars did last season or have any other head-scratching issues (at least not as frequently) that fans witnessed last season.
