Jacksonville had the most salary cap in the league last offseason, and after pinching pennies for the most part with value signings over big splashes, the team is expected to have a similarly large amount of cap space again this season.
And according to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero, the league’s total salary cap is set to increase from $182.5 million to $208.2 million, quite a large increase after the cap has fallen the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Over The Cap, the Jaguars are expected to have $70.2 million in cap space, which would rank third in the league behind the Dolphins and Chargers. Jacksonville is going to have a lot of money to work with this offseason, which will make decisions on players like left tackle Cam Robinson, receiver D.J. Chark Jr. and defensive tackle Taven Bryan a bit easier.
It could also open the door for the Jags to go after a top player in free agency, such as receivers Chris Godwin or Allen Robinson. However, the Jags are projected to have the third-most dead money in the league at $17.8 million.
After a value-based approach didn’t seem to help much this offseason, Jacksonville will likely try a splashier strategy this time around. However, the people making those decisions could change. General manager Trent Baalke could find himself on the hot seat, as could head coach Urban Meyer, considering the team is currently 2-10 and did not take much of a step forward despite acquiring a generational quarterback talent in Trevor Lawrence.
Though the Jags won’t have quite as much cap space as they did last time around, they’ll have another opportunity to improve quite a bit this offseason.
