Jaguars agree to contract with key Trevor Lawrence protector

The Jaguars are going to work ahead of free agency, as they have re-signed one of Trevor Lawrence's offensive lineman in Ezra Cleveland.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have some work to do this offseason after their thoroughly disappointing 2023 campaign. The good news is that they are already hard at work when it comes to re-signing their own key free agents, and they made a pair of moves on Thursday morning to keep a pair of their own guys in town, with one of the deals in particular sure to please star quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

After a breakout campaign in 2022, the Jaguars collapsed down the stretch in 2023, showing that despite all the progress they have made recently, they still have a lot of work to do. Protecting Lawrence is going to be important, which is why the team went out of their way to re-sign offensive lineman Ezra Cleveland to a three-year, $28.5 million deal before free agency opens up.

The #Jaguars and standout G Ezra Cleveland have agreed to terms on a new 3-year deal worth $28.5M, sources say, with $14.5M guaranteed.

Jacksonville traded for Cleveland last season and moved quickly to keep him off the market in a deal done by Ron Slavin of @SPORTSTARSNYC. pic.twitter.com/uS5EAkJyQV

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 7, 2024

Ezra Cleveland not the only player the Jaguars re-sign

Jacksonville picked up Cleveland in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings last season, so it's not a big surprise to see that they wanted to keep him in town this offseason. But the fun didn't stop there, as the Jags managed to re-sign another player before free agency in depth safety Daniel Thomas to a two-year, $4 million deal.

Safety Daniel Thomas is re-signing with the #Jaguars for 2 years, $4M — with potential to make up to $6M, source tells @BleacherReport. pic.twitter.com/yOiekVE9jK

— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 7, 2024

Cleveland should reprise his starting role on the Jaguars offensive line, which is a huge boost for Lawrence under center, while Thomas figures to remain a key special-teamer who occasionaly finds himself manning the secondary as well. Both signings are good business for Jacksonville, and they will be looking to continue to make some shrewd moves once free agency gets underway.