JACKSONVILLE, Fla. _ The Jaguars have agreed to trade cornerback A.J. Bouye to the Denver Broncos for a 2020 fourth-round pick, a league source confirmed Tuesday.
ESPN was the first to report the impending trade.
The trade won't be finalized until the NFL's new year begins on March 18.
By acquiring a fourth-round pick in the trade, the Jaguars now have 10 picks in next month' draft, including two first-round picks.
If the Jaguars had not found a trade partner, they were likely going to release Bouye to clear $11.4 million in cap space. At the NFL scouting combine last week, Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell said he considered Bouye to be an asset.
"We do have some young corners with Tre (Herndon) and Parry Nickerson and obviously we felt D.J. Hayden played a tremendous role for us, but A.J. is definitely an asset," Caldwell said at the combine.
The Jaguars signed Bouye, 28, to a five-year, $67.5 million free agent contract in 2017 after he played four seasons with the Houston Texans.
In his first season, Bouye made the Pro Bowl after leading the Jaguars with six interceptions to help them win the AFC South and advance to the AFC championship game before losing to the New England Patriots.
But since 2018, Bouye has totaled only two interceptions, including one last season.
With his departure, it appears clearly the Jaguars are rebuilding. They are stockpiling draft picks with 10 in next month's NFL Draft.
The Jaguars declined last week to pick up the option on veteran defensive tackle Marcell Dareus, whom the acquired in a mid-season trade in 2017 from the Buffalo Bills.
Now, Bouye and Dareus join weak-side linebacker Telvin Smith, middle linebacker Paul Posluszny, defensive end Dante Fowler, cornerback Jalen Ramsey, free safety Tashaun Gipson, strong safety Barry Church and defensive tackle Malik Jackson, who were all key defensive contributors on 2017 team but are no longer with the franchise.
Both Smith and Posluszny retired. Fowler and Ramsey were traded to the Los Angeles Rams. Gipson and Jackson were released to create additional cap space. And Church was released during the final month of the 2018 season.
Defensive end Yannick Ngakoue took to social media on Monday to announce that he is not interested signing a long-term contract with the franchise.
The Jaguars could seek to trade Ngakoue after they designate him with the franchise tag before the March 12 deadline. If they don't apply the tag, Ngakoue can hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent March 18.
To replace Bouye, the Jaguars are likely to fill the void in the draft or free agency.
