Update: The Jaguars confirmed this signing at noon ET on Tuesday.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are shoring up their outside secondary and expected to re-sign corner Sidney Jones IV. The news was first reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Details of the deal have not emerged at this time, but this story will be updated as they become available.
Jones is now the fifth player from the 2020 team that the front office has inked for a new deal. In addition to Jones, they've brought back offensive linemen Cam Robinson (franchise tag), Tyler Shatley, defensive linemen Dawuane Smoot and nickel corner Tre Herndon. The move comes during the league’s legal tampering period, ahead of official free agency opening tomorrow afternoon (Wednesday at 4pm Eastern).
A former second round pick for the Philadelphia Eagles, Jones came to Jacksonville last season and immediately made an impact. Albeit, injuries also marred Jones season, as they have done for much of his career.
In just nine games, Jones set a passes defended mark—nine—that no other Jaguars secondary player came close to matching throughout the season. Rookie CJ Henderson got the closest with six. Jones also nabbed two interceptions which led late into the season before linebacker Joe Schobert grabbed his third.
Jones was a ball hawk, always there to make a play or help a teammate make a play. He reminded us why he was a projected first round pick before tearing his Achilles at his Pro Day. According to Pro Football Focus, it was Jones’ best season yet from a defensive grade standpoint and he posted a 74 or better in coverage four times in seven games. A month into the season, PFF had given Jones the highest grade for a corner in the league (91.9).
However, Sidney Jones have never played a full season. He has now experienced multiple Achilles injuries and remains a “potential over production” signing. His potential though is high. His experience too helps steady the outside corner unit opposite 2020 first round pick, CJ Henderson.
Defensive Coordinator Todd Wash bragged on Jones’ play in mid-November.
“He’s getting his hands on balls, I think he’s being disruptive. He’s really doing a nice job in man coverage and getting disruption at the line of scrimmage. Obviously, some plays you don’t even see that he gets great disruption at the line of scrimmage and the quarterback goes away from him. So, he’s playing [consistently], which is really good to see and hopefully he’s going to be a Jaguar for a while.”
The Jaguars still have more than 24 hours to make arrangements before they officially begin signing free agents Wednesday evening. The club also have 11 picks total in draft capital in April’s 2021 NFL Draft, so the corner room could see even more change.
So far, during the legal tampering period, the club has re-signed defensive lineman Dawuane Smoot, and offensive lineman Tyler Shatley while adding defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris.
The Jaguars also reportedly reached a three-year agreement with former Detroit Lions returner/wide receiver Jamal Agnew, as well as a two-year deal with safety and gunner Rudy Ford. Then Wednesday evening—in addition to Jenkins—the club reportedly agreed to deals with wide receiver Phillip Dorsett and running back Carlos Hyde.
Teams can negotiate with restricted and unrestricted free agents until 3:59 pm Eastern on Wednesday, at which point free agency will officially be open.
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