Next year's Jacksonville Jaguars team is likely to look significantly different than this past year's. After coming a play short of the Super Bowl the year prior, the Jags completely collapsed in 2018. They finished the year 5-11, and were a clear last place in the AFC South.
They've got a lot of work to do this offseason and they're the only team in the division without a true franchise quarterback. One quarterback they've been linked heavily to this offseason is Nick Foles, and to pursue Foles they'll need money. One way to free up cap space that the team might explore is restructuring the contract of cornerback A.J. Bouye, according to Hays Carlyon of 1010XL.
Carlyon writes that Bouye currently has a 2019 cap number of $15.4 million, and that a restructure might be mutually beneficial. The Jaguars could free up some immediate cap space to pursue a big-name quarterback and Bouye could have some of his guaranteed money pushed to later years which would give him better roster security in the future.
Bouye is heading into the third year of a five-year, $67.5 million contract that he signed with Jacksonville in 2017. Bouye was a late bloomer, as he entered the league as an undrafted free agent with the Texans in 2013, but barely played his first couple of years.
He then became a star his last year or two in Houston, and earned the massive payday from their division rivals. In his first year with the Jaguars, he was a Pro Bowler and an All-Pro. He wasn't quite as good this past season, earning an above average but not elite 75.7 grade from Pro Football Focus.
With Bouye and Jalen Ramsey, the Jaguars have one of if not the best cornerback duos in the league. It's unclear if Bouye would be willing to restructure at this time, and they can't risk making him unhappy.
The morale of the team plummeted last year, leading to a divided locker room. If Jacksonville is going to have a resurgence next year, Bouye will be a big part of it.
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