2024 offseason primer: Jaguars focused on building from the trenches out

If there were an award for the biggest collapse of the 2023 NFL season, it would likely go to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

They had started 8-3 through the first 12 weeks but lost five of their last six games, including a 28-20 defeat to their division rival Tennessee Titans that ultimately kept them out of the postseason, to finish 9-8 and miss the playoffs one season after winning the fourth division title in franchise history.

Plenty of changes are expected to be made to an underperforming roster, and general manager Trent Baalke told reporters those changes will start with the offensive and defensive lines.

“We've got to get bigger, we've got to get stronger,” Baalke said at his end-of-season news conference. “We've got to get more physical in the trenches.”

Here’s what you need to know about Jacksonville’s offseason:

PROJECTED 2024 CAP SPACE:  $17.24M (18th-most in NFL)

FREE AGENTS | Offense: QB Matt Barkley; RB D’Ernest Johnson; WRs Jamal Agnew, Calvin Ridley, Tim Jones, Jaylon Moore; OT Blake Hance; OGs Tyler Shatley, Ezra Cleveland, Cole Van Lanen

Defense: DEs Dawuane Smoot, Angelo Blackson; DT Jeremiah Ledbetter; LBs Shaq Quarterman, Caleb Johnson, Josh Allen, K’Lavon Chaisson; CBs Tre Herndon, Chris Claybrooks, Gregory Junior; Safety Daniel Thomas

Special teams: Kicker Brandon McManus

Outlook: With limited cap space barring some cap-clearing cuts, the Jaguars can only do so much this offseason in terms of upgrading their roster. Offensively, Ridley should be the top and only priority. After not playing in more than a year-and-a-half, Ridley logged the second 1,000-yard season of his career, and he grabbed the second-most receptions of his career (76). If Trevor Lawrence is to eventually ascend into the NFL’s elite, he’s going to need a receiver like Ridley around.