The Jaguars and cornerback A.J. Bouye are have reached agreement on a contract, per Ian Rapoport and James Palmer of NFL.com (Twitter link). Prior to the deal, Bouye was still deciding between the Jaguars, Titans, and Bears, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports (Twitter link). The agreement was finalized on Thursday after the official start of free agency, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
Schefter tweets that the deal is for five years and $67.5MM, with $26MM guaranteed. That means the cornerback will be making around $13.5MM annually. Rapoport adds that Bouye will be receiving $44MM over the first three years of the contract.
An undrafted free agent out of Central Florida in 2013, Bouye had started only eight games during his first three years in the league, but was pressed into duty in 2016 and ended up starting 11 contests. During that time, Bouye managed one interception and 16 passes defensed, and graded as the NFL’s third-best corner behind Denver’s Chris Harris and Aqib Talib, per Pro Football Focus. In the most recent edition of PFR’s Top 50 Free Agents, Bouye ranked first overall.
One of the more intrguing free agents in recent memory thanks to his lack of experience, Bouye generated quite a market during the legal tampering period. The Colts, Titans, Bears, Buccaneers, Jets, and Eagles were all thought to be interested in the 25-year-old Bouye, who is expected to command north of $12MM annually. The Texans also wanted to retain Bouye, but Houston couldn’t keep up with the other offers flowing Bouye’s way.
The Jaguars are no strangers to defensive spending in free agency. In 2016, Jacksonville added Malik Jackson and Tashaun Gipson on top-of-the-market deals, and this offseason the club has already inked Barry Church and is in the running for Calais Campbell, though the latter is now deciding between the Jaguars and Broncos.
Jacksonville’s pass defense ranked 12th in DVOA last year, a ranking that only figures to improve following the addition of Bouye, who will team with 2016 first-round pick Jalen Ramsey to form a lethal (and youthful) cornerback duo.
Hopefully this will convince Campbell we’re for real. I’m tired of seeing all the Jaguars hate. We know as fans that the Jags have been terrible. But, it seems strange to act derisively towards a team trying to get better and towards a player for getting paid. People are weird about sports.
Get ready for disappointment with Bouye. I watched every snap of the Texans this year. Bouye is a solid player, but once you get beyond 15 yards, he’s suspect. He’s nowhere near the 3rd best CB in the league. I would struggle to even put him Top 20.
The Jags don’t need him to be a No. 1 corner, that’s what Ramsey is for. They need a No. 2 which is what Bouye can be.
Nick Perry to the Packers 5 years 60M Guarantee is 18.5M
G Joel Bitonio is a 6-year new contract worth $51.2M in full. The total guarantee is $23.7M with the Browns
Bethea to Cardinals 3 years to replace Tony Jefferson
Alan Branch Pats 2 years 12M
Take it easy Schefter.
Fans tend to downplay a players performance when they leave and build them up when they are signed.
Jags fans doing the same with Cyprien.
But that’s because Cyprien didn’t show much before this last year. He’s a box safety who struggled to tackle his first three years. And he doesn’t force turnovers. He’s a very poor man’s Kam Chancellor.
I know who Cyp is…..I’m talking about the guy above saying Bouye is no good.
Cyp is a good run stopper,who tackles well but poor in coverage…..but Titans prob happy to have him.
My point is a teams fans always think the guy leaving isn’t that good and the guy coming is great.
Fans gonna fan.
I have my doubts that Bouye will have a good return on investment. I hope he does though, for the sake of the Jaguars.
Did the Packers management go home early after re-signing Perry?
The Packers wouldn’t have been in on Bouye even if they didn’t. They don’t spend much in free agency, and I’m sure Bouye’s base salary alone was past were they would’ve been even willing to shell out.
Exactly, the Chargers haven’t even signed one guy yet either. Seems like the Bills, Niners, Jags