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The Jacksonville Jaguars have done a complete reset of the organization. They got rid of head coach Doug Pederson and GM Trent Baalke, deciding to go in a new direction. The new regime has the advantage of Trevor Lawrence being the clear-cut starting quarterback. They now have to fill out the rest of the roster. Part of retooling a roster is figuring out where to save money. Reports indicate the Jaguars intend to release wide receiver Christian Kirk.
Jacksonville Jaguars Set To Release Christian Kirk
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the Jacksonville Jaguars are planning to release Christian Kirk, making him a free agent. This isn’t necessarily a shock as many analysts predicted Kirk would be a cap casualty. He is in the final year of his four-year, $72 million deal and is set to make $16.5 million in non-guaranteed money. Cutting him saves the team $10.4 million. Kirk is coming off a broken collarbone which prematurely ended his 2024 season.
On the field, he was productive for the Jacksonville Jaguars. In his three seasons with Jacksonville, he had 168 receptions for 2,274 yards and 12 touchdowns. The Jaguars simply have too many other needs right now. Rookie Brian Thomas Jr. is the clear WR1 in the offense after a historic season, and veteran Gabe Davis is on the roster as well. The 28-year-old should be a hot commodity in the free-agent market, but the Jaguars have to focus elsewhere.
Free Agency Plans
There are three areas of concern for the Jacksonville Jaguars. On offense, their interior line needs some help. Protecting their franchise quarterback is a top priority, especially with Lawrence coming off a major injury. The rest of the needs are on defense. This unit bled points last year and needs a dynamic cornerback to shut down the elite receivers in the NFL.
In addition, the interior defensive line is an area the team could improve. They gave up oodles of rushing yards to opponents because there was no push in the middle. Travon Walker and Arik Armstead have been solid on the outside, but they need some help in the interior. The $10.4 million cap savings will help build a better team overall.
Final Thoughts
The wide receiver market is becoming very interesting. There are many quality players on the market and many teams that need more help at the position. Christian Kirk is another name to add to the list. Where will he end up in 2025?
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Only eight plate appearances into his New York Yankees career, Ryan McMahon has already been more productive than the team’s previous third base options. What might sound hyperbolic or outright false at first glance is actually true, at least from a certain point of view. Analytics — specifically, Wins Above Replacement — proves that argument, and it’s one that Yankees manager Aaron Boone should be ashamed of. McMahon went 2-for-3 with a two-run double in Sunday’s victory over the Phillies, giving him four hits in his first eight at-bats. FanGraphs ruled that McMahon is already worth 0.2 fWAR through two games in a Yankees uniform. Amazingly, McMahon has a higher fWAR than the trio of DJ LeMahieu, Oswald Peraza, and Jorbit Vivas, who have played a combined 148 games in the infield thus far. LeMahieu provided -0.1 fWAR over 45 games before being unceremoniously cut earlier this month, while Vivas (-0.2) is currently at Triple-A. Peraza and his -0.6 fWAR remain on the active roster, though he’s shifted into a bench role. Baseball-Reference has been slightly more generous, giving Peraza -0.2 bWAR. Boone stuck with LeMahieu and Peraza until he couldn’t anymore, and it’s partly why the Yankees have dropped to 5 1/2 games back in the AL East. Injuries and age took their toll on LeMahieu, who only played second after returning from calf and hip problems. Peraza owns a .152 average and .452 OPS in 170 plate appearances. We’ll see if McMahon can elevate the Yankees, who open a pivotal four-game set with the rival Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night.
Cubs in danger of making enormous trade-deadline mistake
Boasting a 62-44 record in the NL Central, the Chicago Cubs are still searching for a way to pull ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers took sole possession of first place in the division from the Cubs in an 8-4 win on Monday. Chicago will get its chance before the three-game set is over, but if the Cubs should fall to the Brewers, the trade deadline will be viewed as essential for their World Series chances. Several rumors of Chicago’s interest in starters, relievers and third basemen have swirled nonstop. And while they have shown interest in several quality names — Mitch Keller, Eugenio Suárez, MacKenzie Gore — some of their other trade targets are less than ideal. Among their worst sources of interest (if not, the worst) is struggling Braves reliever Raisel Iglesias, who is in his walk year. Hiding behind his shining 2.99 career ERA is a rather shocking, career-high 4.97 ERA, to which he has pitched this season. He is still a strikeout pitcher, having accumulated 46 Ks in 41.2 innings, but his run prevention capabilities have seemingly deteriorated. It was only last season when Iglesias posted a stellar 1.95 ERA. Since then, his home run total doubled, from surrendering just four last year to eight so far this year. His opponent batting average has also jumped, from .160 to .250. Iglesias is no stranger to success. He threw to ERAs south of 3.00 in eight of his 11 MLB years. However, this season, he just doesn’t appear to have it. Any team that trades for Iglesias in the last year of his contract would be betting that he can return to elite form before the season is over. Taking a risk on a pitcher like Iglesias in his current condition, especially when there are several other more reliable arms on the market, would be ill-advised. And for the Cubs, who are in a win-now position, having secured one guaranteed year of Kyle Tucker, taking a gamble on Iglesias could easily risk everything they worked for this season.
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