Assessing what a contract would look like if the Jacksonville Jaguars went after G Damien Lewis in free agency
Last season, the Jacksonville Jaguars had one of the worst offensive lines in the league regarding pass blocking and run blocking. They couldn't do either very well. That is undoubtedly one of the biggest, if not the biggest, needs this offseason.The thing is, they can improve that position easily this offseason. Sure, they have plenty […]
Last season, the Jacksonville Jaguars had one of the worst offensive lines in the league regarding pass blocking and run blocking. They couldn't do either very well. That is undoubtedly one of the biggest, if not the biggest, needs this offseason.
The thing is, they can improve that position easily this offseason. Sure, they have plenty of other positions they have to address, as well as the Josh Allen and Calvin Ridley contract situations. However, they cannot let the offensive line not see any changes.
The Jaguars have left tackle Cam Robinson, center Luke Fortner, right guard Brandon Scherff, and right tackle Anton Harrison all under contract for 2024. Those were all starters last season, but not all will be starters next season. The center position is clearly one that needs change, and with backup center Tyler Shatley as an unrestricted free agent, the Jaguars can go after a center in the draft or free agency and still move Fortner to backup.
The left guard position is one that the Jaguars really need to address. Last season, Ezra Cleveland was the starter. He is an unrestricted free agent, and if the Jaguars decide not to bring him back, there are plenty of options they could go with to replace him. One thing they could do is address the position through a free agency, where they can get one of the best guards available for very, very cheap.
We at A to Z Sports do free agency rankings and projections every year. This year, A to Z Sports did it again, ranking the top 105 free agents and projecting their deals. Coming in at No. 45 is the best guard available in free agency, Damien Lewis, who can play left and right guard. He played for the Seattle Seahawks last season and was pretty good. Here is how A to Z Sports broke down Lewis in 2023:
Although he has been a starter since he was drafted in 2020, Lewis had his real breakout year when the Seattle Seahawks shocked the NFL world in 2022 and rode Geno Smith to a playoff appearance. That year, Lewis managed an extremely impressive 98.2 pass blocking efficiency rating, only allowing 19 total pressures in the regular season. Lewis is a big-bodied mauler that won All-Rookie Team honors from the Pro Football Writers Association, and despite a slightly down 2023 season, showcased flashes of significant upside throughout the course of his rookie contract. Damien would be wise to keep the contract length at three years since he won’t be pushing pricing boundaries, and get back to the free agent well while he’s young enough to sign another significant multi-year deal.
According to our projections, Lewis' contract could look something like this: Projected Contract: 3 Year, $25.5M, $8.5 APY, $16.5M GTD, year one cap hit: $3.5M
The Jaguars currently have $30 million in available cap space, per Spotrac. But, as we said earlier, they still have some other things to figure out. Now, all things considered, $8 or almost $9 million for a left guard isn't that bad. That would have him as the eighth-highest-paid left guard, behind guys like Quentin Nelson, who gets paid $20 million per year, and Joe Thuney of the Kansas City Chiefs, according to Over the Cap.
Suppose the Jaguars want to protect Trevor Lawrence while being able to establish a run game. In that case, they will have to either pay money for a veteran at the position or draft a guy and deal with rookie mistakes like Anton Harrison had last season. Harrison was good, but he did make rookie mistakes.
Either way is a good option, but if they were to attack it in free agency, Lewis would be a good fit contractually.
Jaguars can solve biggest offensive issue in free agency if they decide to save first-round pick
The Jaguars are in need of some help up front.
