Ben Arthur
AFC South Reporter
Doug Pederson is still bothered by how the 2023 season ended.
The Jaguars suffered arguably the biggest collapse in franchise history. At 8-3 in late November, Jacksonville was on the fast track to the AFC’s No. 1 overall seed. But the team dropped five of its final six games, including the regular-season finale at Tennessee, to miss the playoffs.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever get over it,” Pederson said at the NFL league meetings this week. “For me, I think it’s going to be my motivation, my fuel moving forward.”
That fuel will be supported by the team’s offseason moves.
In the past month, the Jags have invested heavily in veteran leadership and in the trenches, hoping to avoid their 2023 fate.
Jacksonville lost wide receiver Calvin Ridley in free agency to the Titans and released three key contributors as cap casualties: safety Rayshawn Jenkins, cornerback Darious Williams, defensive tackle Foley Fatukasi. But the organization has made a slew of notable additions in free agency: defensive tackle Arik Armstead (three years, $51 million), center Mitch Morse (two years, $10.5 million), safety Darnell Savage (three years, $21.7 million), cornerback Ronald Darby (two years, $8.5 million), and receivers Gabe Davis (three years, $39 million) and Devin Duvernay (two years, $8.5 million).
All bring significant playoff experience to a Jaguars team that didn’t know how to finish last season. Darby has won a Super Bowl. Armstead has been to two. Davis, Morse, Savage and Duvernay have played in conference championship games.
“These guys know how to win,” Pederson said. “That’s kind of the influx of talent that we want to bring onto our roster, guys who’ve been there and done that.
“Again, I’ve got to continue to message the team in the right way,” he continued. “We have to have that confidence and that swagger that you’re going to get the job done on game day. I think bringing in…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/how-jaguars-plan-to-bounce-back-from-biggest-collapse-in-franchise-history
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Publish date : 2024-03-27 21:27:59
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