Jacksonville is signing return specialist/receiver Jamal Agnew, a source told Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link).
The initial numbers are eye-popping. Garafolo reports it’s a three-year deal that “maxes out” at $21M. He says that includes “reachable incentives.” It’s a heck of a lot more than the two-year, $6M deal fellow return ace Andre Roberts just got from the Texans. The Lions drafted Agnew in the fifth round back in 2017, and he immediately made a name for himself on special teams.
He returned two punt returns for touchdowns as a rookie, led the league in punt return average and was named a First-Team All-Pro as a result. This past year he returned 14 punts for 178 yards and a touchdown, adding 28 kick returns for 783 yards (28 Y/R).
No matter how good of a returner he is, this kind of money is still surprising. It could mean that new Jags coach Urban Meyer envisions a role for him on offense. The Lions tried using him a bit as a gadget player this past year. He finished with 13 catches for 89 yards and six carries for 33 yards.
Obviously he can make things happen with the ball in his hands, so it’ll be interesting to see what Jacksonville’s staff cooks up for him. Darrell Bevell, who coached Agnew in Detroit this past year, is the new offensive coordinator for the Jaguars.
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