Following their most successful season in nearly two decades, the Jacksonville Jaguars have been quite active this offseason restructuring the roster. The front office has put forth a flurry of moves to add pieces to the puzzle to build off just their third trip to the AFC Championship game.
According to Field Yates of ESPN, the Jaguars have restructured the $8 million roster bonus for Pro Bowl linebacker Telvin Smith into a $6 million signing bonus to create additional salary cap space this offseason.
Source: the Jaguars wound up converting an $8M roster bonus due this past Sunday to LB Telvin Smith into a signing bonus, creating $6M in cap space for 2018.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 21, 2018
The Jaguars originally inked Smith to a four-year, $45.05 million contract extension with $15.05 million guaranteed and a $4.05 million signing bonus to keep him under a deal through the 2021 season. He is currently slated to make $5.8 million in 2018.
Through his first four years in the league with the Jaguars, Smith has etched out an important role in the front seven defensively as their middle linebacker. He has tallied more than 100 tackles in each season.
The additional salary cap space this offseason could be used to add more pieces to the puzzle either through free agency or the draft.
The front office has been busy adding more proven talent to the mix in offensive guard Andrew Norwell, wide receiver Donte Moncrief, tight ends Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Niles Paul, and safety Cody Davis. The team has also re-signed wide receiver Marqise Lee to a new multi-year deal, and not to forget, they signed quarterback Blake Bortles to a long-term extension last month.
The Jaguars decided to part ways with a few longtime mainstays in wide receiver Allen Hurns and tight end Marcedes Lewis, but these moves signal that the team is all in on capitalizing on their success from this past season. The front office constructed a sound roster on both sides of the ball headlined by their stout defensive and strong running game led by Leonard Fournette.
If Jacksonville is able to remain relatively healthy, the team should be in position to once again compete for a playoff spot and possibly make another deep postseason run.
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