The Jaguars had to do some financial maneuvering to ensure flexibility under the salary cap to start an important offseason after reaching the AFC title game in January. It could lead to keeping receiver Allen Robinson from hitting the open market and away from 49ers, who could use a red-zone threat for Jimmy Garoppolo.
Jacksonville entered the offseason with some $18 million in cap room. Bringing back Robinson on the franchise tag would have run $16 million, leaving them without the necessary space to bring in their incoming draft class or enough operating room for a typical offseason.
So the team made two important fiscal decisions. They released running back Chris Ivory, saving roughly $3.5 million, and restructured quarterback Blake Bortles number by giving him a new three-year contract that shrinks his cap hit to just $10 million next season, as first reported by ESPN.
That means Jacksonville has roughly $31 million in cap space, which could be enough to bring Robinson back – and keep him away from Kyle Shanahan and San Francisco.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport had more financial details about Bortles’ contract:
The 49ers’ short-term need for a No. 1 receiver isn’t necessarily pressing for 2018. Garoppolo threw for the third-most yards in the NFL over his five starts to end 2017 with a no-name receiver corps featuring Marquise Goodwin, Trent Taylor, Louis Murphy, Aldrick Robinson and Kendrick Bourne.
Pierre Garçon’s season ended just days before Garoppolo was acquired in the trade with the Patriots. He suffered a small fracture in his neck after being on pace for just his third 1,000-yard season despite playing with quarterbacks Brian Hoyer and C.J. Beathard.
Garçon, who turns 32 in August, could be a great match for Garoppolo given his willingness to make catches in traffic in the middle of the field, where Garoppolo did his best work throughout San Francisco’s five-game winning streak.
But Garçon might be a bridge to the future which remains murky at the position for the 49ers. Robinson, 24, could be the best candidate this offseason to become a No. 1 receiver, either in free agency or the draft, to build around for the long run. But Jacksonville appears poised to at least give him the franchise tag after he suffered an ACL tear in Week 1 in September, giving the club 2018 to determine if he’s worth signing to a long-term deal.
Or, if the Jags are already convinced, perhaps they work out a multi-year agreement with the former Penn State star, forcing San Francisco to look elsewhere to help improve the last season’s 27th-ranked red zone offense this spring.
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