The Jaguars have extended a second-round tender offer to restricted free agent defensive end Ryan Davis, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). A report earlier this week had indicated that Davis would receive the low-end offer, but it appears the Jags went a little higher in an effort to keep the pass rusher.
According to Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (via Twitter), the Jaguars also tendered contract offers to RFA defensive tackle Abry Jones and ERFA tight end Nic Jacobs. O’Halloran reports that Jones, like Davis, got a second-round tender.
Davis, who turned 27 last month, has appeared in 38 games over the last four years for Jacksonville, earning three accrued seasons during that stretch. He has never played more than a part-time role, but he has shown a knack for getting after the quarterback when he sees the field, recording 11 sacks and three forced fumbles in his NFL career. In 2015, Davis played 250 defensive snaps and picked up 3.5 sacks. He also received the top pass-rushing grade from Pro Football Focus out of any of the Jaguars’ edge defenders or interior linemen.
Jones, 24, was also a part-time player on Jacksonville’s defensive line, picking up 17 tackles, a pair of sacks, and a fumble recovery in 2015.
Since Jacksonville had been armed with more than $85MM in projected cap room after cutting Zane Beadles and Chris Clemons this week, it makes sense that the club would want to assign second-round tenders to their RFAs to avoid losing them. Teams aren’t likely to pursue Davis or Jones now that it would cost a second-round pick to sign either of them, and the tenders cost the Jaguars just $2.553MM apiece, an increase of less than $1MM over the low-end ($1.671MM) tender.
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