The Jacksonville Jaguars have officially entered into a new era. If all goes according to plan, the years of futility will be in the rearview mirror and a late-season surge in 2022 will be a taste of what's to come. That said, there's still some work to do to ensure that becomes a reality.
Through the early part of the offseason, the Jaguars have been arguably the quietest team in the NFL. In fact, they are one of only two teams to not sign any outside players in free agency, the other being the Baltimore Ravens. However, the Ravens are dealing with the Lamar Jackson saga, whereas the Jaguars don't seem to have any such dilemma at first glance.
Look a little deeper, though, and the reason why Jacksonville hasn't been active becomes a bit clearer. The Jaguars have less than $4 million in cap space, and their payroll gets even larger in 2024. That's not even including the deal that star quarterback Trevor Lawrence will inevitably get very soon. For that reason, it may make more sense to ship out future salary rather than take more on.
With that said, here is one potential Jaguars trade that could make sense this offseason.
The perfect Jaguars trade in the 2023 NFL offseason is shipping out Josh Allen
Josh Allen was the Jaguars' seventh overall pick out of Kentucky in the 2019 NFL Draft. Coincidentally and amusingly, he went at the same position in the draft as the Buffalo Bills quarterback of the same name did a year earlier.
As a rookie, Allen looked like a potential future star with a team-leading 10.5 sacks. However, injuries limited him to just eight games in 2020, and he only notched 2.5 sacks in those games. Since then, he has been good pass rusher but hasn't reached the same heights he did as a rookie. He notched 7.5 sacks in 2021 and then seven in 2022.
The Jaguars already picked up Allen's fifth-year option, so he will count for about $10.89 million against the salary cap. However, he will likely command a huge raise after this season, and that's where things could get dicey. Spotrac projects his market value at $16.1 million annually, which may be out of Jacksonville's price range. With the Jaguars' future cap situation already looking murky, it may make sense to trade the linebacker away.
The first and most obvious benefit of trading away Allen is the potential haul the Jaguars could get. Edge rushers are one of the most valuable positions in football today, and they go for a premium, both in terms of money and trade packages. With Allen only entering his age-26 season, he could demand a massive trade package in return.
In fact, there is precedent for this situation. The Denver Broncos were in a near-identical situation with Bradley Chubb, another first-round pass rusher from the 2019 draft, at last season's trade deadline. With their season in the dumps, the Broncos decided to ship their star off to the Miami Dolphins at the deadline. They did get a nice haul for him, though, which included first- and fourth-round picks and running back Chase Edmonds.
As crazy as trading away Allen may sound, the Jaguars have reportedly thought about it. According to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, Jacksonville received offers from multiple teams, including the Kansas City Chiefs, at the deadline, but decided to keep him. Of course, that decision ultimately paid off with a playoff run, but it shows that they have considered moving him.
While this move comes with a lot of risk, there is a legitimate case for trading Josh Allen this offseason.
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