The Jacksonville Jaguars surprised everyone with the run that they went on at the end of the 2022 season. They won six out of their last seven games, taking full advantage of the slide that the Tennessee Titans went on to claim the AFC South divisional title.
In the playoffs, a magical come-from-behind victory over the Los Angeles Chargers occurred at home during Super Wild Card Weekend before they were bounced out of the playoffs by the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. Despite the disappointing end, the Jaguars are in a position to make some noise again in 2023.
The development of Trevor Lawrence has been key to the franchise turning things around as this offense has some real firepower. It will get even more dangerous with Calvin Ridley returning this season from suspension to join Christian Kirk, Zay Jones, Evan Engram and Travie Etienne.
But, there are some question marks in the trenches. Jawaan Taylor left in free agency, signing with the Chiefs. Jacksonville does have Walker Little to turn to, but things got even more complicated when Cam Robinson was popped for violating the league’s PED policy.
There is another option to step into the lineup as the Jaguars did use their first-round pick on Anton Harrison out of Ohio State. The uncertainty surrounding that situation is what led ESPN NFL insider Field Yates believing making a decision on Robinson’s future with the team is the one big move the franchise has left to this offseason.
“The Jaguars left tackle is facing a suspension for a violation of the league’s PED policy, a penalty that will not only include time missed but also void the remaining guaranteed money in his contract. Given the team invested a first-round pick in left tackle Anton Harrison, it seems plausible the Jaguars are prepared to move on from Robinson. Due to the salary cap implications tied to the guarantees being voided, a move prior to an official suspension won’t happen. But releasing Robinson after a suspension would create close to $16 million in cap space. If the team feels Robinson is too valuable to move on from, Jacksonville would then have some options at left tackle once he returns from suspension.”
Replacing one tackle on the offensive line is hard enough; potentially having to replace both would certainly be a tall task for the Jaguars. Little has pedigree as a second-round pick in 2021 out of Stanford, but he doesn’t have a ton of experience, starting six games the last two seasons.
It would be a big undertaking not only to step into the lineup full time but to flip to Lawrence’s blind side. Head coach Doug Pederson will have to figure things out as having an inexperienced tackle duo could quickly lead to the offense unraveling.
