Dave Caldwell

Jaguars GM On Pressure, Jack, Fowler Jr.

September 10th, 2016 at 10:45am CST by Ben Levine

Dave Caldwell took over as the Jaguars general manager in 2013. Since then, the squad has gone 12-36.

Fortunately, there’s reason for optimism in Jacksonville. The offense seemed to have taken major steps forward in 2015, and 2016 will see the addition of several talented defenders. In fact, our own Zach Links picked the Jags to secure one of the AFC’s wild card spots!

Caldwell recently sat down with Ryan O’Halloran of Jacksonville.com to discuss the pressure of being a GM, as well as the additions of defenders Myles Jack and Dante Fowler Jr.. The whole interview is worth reading, but we snagged some of the more notable soundbites below…

On whether there’s additional pressure in fourth year on job:

“Not any more than the previous three years. Our pressure comes from within. … We’ve been doing this for four years, and to have a winning record is probably a reasonable expectation. I think [owner Shad Khan] will make a decision at the end of 16 games and say it’s the direction he likes or doesn’t.”

On not rushing rookie linebacker Myles Jack:

“I’m encouraged by the idea of taking a player in the second round and not needing them to be an impact player right away. That’s a good thing. When he gets on the field, he’ll be a very good player. The fact he doesn’t have to right away is a good thing for this organization.”

On Dante Fowler’s return from injury:

“It’s been truly interesting to see him come off an ACL injury like he has and have the amount of explosion and quickness and speed he possesses and not even for one second think about that injury. He’s flying around, he’s working his tail off in practice and doing a good lot things. He’s getting the rust off. Like our rookies, as the season goes along, he’s going to be a much better player.”

AFC Notes: Watt, Maxwell, Raiders, Jaguars

September 7th, 2016 at 7:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

J.J. Watt worried whether or not he’d be healthy enough to return to football in the days following his groin surgery this winter, per Deepi Sidhu of HoustonTexans.com. The Texans‘ defensive end dynamo, however, said the rehab from his July back surgery didn’t faze him nearly as much.

“After the first surgery, there were some days there where I really, really questioned whether or not I would ever be able to play again,” Watt said. “Just some of the stuff we were dealing with from a rehab standpoint, just the way recovery was going early on…way back in January and February, there was a very low point there.

“[After the groin surgery] I was in a hotel room in Philadelphia for 10 days straight not being able to really walk or anything. With this this back surgery, after going through the first one…it was almost like, ‘screw it, let’s get it over with, let’s get through it.’ This one has almost been a fun challenge to overcome.”

Houston activated Watt from the Active/PUP list last week and is expected to deploy him for the Week 1 Bears matchup. Counting five playoff games, Watt has started 85 consecutive contests going into his sixth season.

Here’s more from around the league on the eve of Week 1.

Dolphins cornerback Byron Maxwell was blunt when asked about why he left the Seahawks in free agency in 2015 to join up with the Eagles, as James Walker of ESPN.com writes. “Cash flow, all day,” Maxwell said. “They were close. But I can’t make that back in my lifetime. So I had to go.” Philadelphia gave Maxwell a six-year, $63MM contract with a whopping $25MM guaranteed. However, after he struggled in his first season with Philly, he was shipped to the Dolphins and had his contract restructured. After being in the shadow of Richard Sherman with Seattle, Maxwell is now the No. 1 CB for the Dolphins.
If the Southern Nevada Tourism and Infrastructure Committee doesn’t vote to green-light sufficient funds for a Raiders stadium, the sides will move on, Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole tweets. This is viewed by Las Vegas and the Raiders as a one-shot deal, per Cole. The SNTIC has until Sept. 30 to come up with a financing plan, but the issue over how much public money will be contributed remains the sticking point. Developers are seeking $750MM in public contributions for the $1.9 billion stadium. With Oakland having made next to no progress on plans for a Raiders long-term site, the team could pivot back to Los Angeles, which may again have both the Chargers and Raiders interested after both had previously moved to other projects.
Dave Caldwell viewed his first three Jaguars teams as flawed to the point the team needed “perfect” efforts to be in a game late, Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union writes. “Now we can overcome a bad play, a fumble, a backed-up situation, a deficit,” the fourth-year Jags GM said. “Offensively, we can score quickly and defensively, I think we can hold that fort down.” Jacksonville’s accumulated a 12-36 record during the first three seasons of the Caldwell/Gus Bradley regime.
After matching C.J. Anderson‘s offer sheet, extending Brandon Marshall through 2020 and avoiding a franchise tag season for Von Miller, the Broncos reached an agreement to extend Emmanuel Sanders through 2019.

Zach Links contributed to this report

Jags GM Dave Caldwell On Rookies, LTs, WRs

August 14th, 2016 at 11:16am CST by Rory Parks

Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell met with Alex Marvez and Mark Dominik of SiriusXM NFL Radio yesterday, and the interview produced some interesting tidbits. Here’s some of what Caldwell had to say (via Hays Carlyon of The Florida Times-Union):

On the front office’s thought process when it came to selecting Jalen Ramsey:

“I don’t think there was a lot of [debate], it was pretty unanimous. Jalen, we wanted to come out with an impact defensive player in the top five. This was the year we wanted to start focusing on crafting this defense and building it from the ground up. He’s a rare athlete. You see him on the field being as big as he is, how he moves and how explosive he is. You don’t find guys like that that come along every year. Once every couple years, you get a player of that ability.”

On what compelled the team to take a risk on Myles Jack in the second round:

“We said, let’s take a guy that we know a lot about who is excellent talent. We have to take some risk. We have to close that talent gap and we won’t do it by being very conservative. Let’s take a risk on a guy that we know is a great worker, very diligent and he’s going to take care of his body. Doctors are wrong too, just like scouts. It’s a matter of opinion. The risk was worth the reward at that point in time.”

On how third-rounder Yannick Ngakoue will fit in:

“He and [Dante Fowler, Jr.] will split time at that Leo position. In nickel, they’ll both play the ends. Both are athletic enough with their versatility they can drop into coverage and take tight ends man to man. You need more than one pass rusher. We don’t have a lot of experience here, but we feel like we have a pretty good skill set in those young guys.”

On the left tackle battle between Luke Joeckel and Kelvin Beachum:

“Luke’s probably had his best camp since we’ve been here. I think it’s maturity in his growth and physical maturity. So, it’s going to be a good battle over these next couple of weeks to see where that ends up. I expect [Joeckel] to play some left guard in the preseason. When we get Kelvin back, he did individual today, we’ll slowly bring him along.”

On the wide receiver depth chart:

“Our three spots are a little in flux, because there is no true three. If we go slot, we have Rashad Greene and Bryan Walters that are really good slot receivers. Marqise Lee can take the top off but he’s outside so then you bring one of [Allen Robinson or Allen Hurns] inside. All from our three-to-five spots, I think those guys are going to play quite a bit. Rashad is a dynamic punt returner, so that will be his focus and Bryan Walters does a really nice job on special teams too.”

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

More Reactions to Allen Hurns’ Extension

June 4th, 2016 at 10:41am CST by Ben Levine

Allen Hurns got paid. The 24-year-old inked a four-year extension yesterday rumored to be worth $40MM (with $20MM in guaranteed money).

While some NFL players are content with securing a big payday and then coasting, the former undrafted free agent is still looking to prove a point.

“It [the contract] for sure won’t change me,” Hurns told ESPN.com’s Mike DiRocco. “No matter how much money I make I’m still going to step on the field thinking about the day I went undrafted. That will stay with me forever.”

Hurns has clearly already proven that he belongs in the NFL. In two seasons, the former Miami Hurricanes standout has compiled 115 catches for 1,708 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Let’s take a look at some more notes pertaining to Hurns’ pricey extension…

DiRocco writes that Hurns’ new deal came together relatively quickly. The two sides began negotiating shortly after the NFL draft, and the extension truly gained traction when agent Drew Rosenhaus visited Jaguars executives on Thursday.
While some front offices may be wary of extending a former undrafted free agent, Hurns track record proved that he was worth the risk. “He’s done it two years in a row,” said Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell (via Hays Carlyon of Jacksonville.com). “This wasn’t just a one-year wonder and that’s another reason why we felt comfortable with it. Two years of production, plus the type of person and character he is. It was the right decision on our part.”
Despite being his team’s second receiver and having only played two seasons in the NFL, Hurns $10MM annual salary still ranks tenth among NFL wideouts, notes Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com. Hurns restricted free agent tag provided the Jaguars with some leverage, but Fitzgerald believes Hurns emerged with the “best deal signed by a player in that spot since Arian Foster.”

Peter King’s Latest: Chargers, Stanley, Jaguars

April 28th, 2016 at 9:20am CST by Zachary Links

In his column this morning, Peter King of The MMQB writes that he is skeptical of the idea that the Chargers will trade down. The Bolts were fielding tons of calls from teams prior to the Browns-Eagles trade for the No. 2, but the interest has “dried up since then,” according to King. Football people continue to link the Chargers to Notre Dame tackle Ronnie Stanley, which echoes a report from Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller on Wednesday night.

Here’s more from King:

Stanley is also the No. 1 tackle on the Jaguars‘ board, King hears, but GM Dave Caldwell is more likely to go with a front-seven player or trade down.
Two anonymous teams say that Jalen Ramsey’s lack of productivity and his lack of plays made at Florida State are scaring them off. Ramsey notably had just two interceptions in his final 40 college games. A third team that is actually high on Ramsey is worried that he was moved from cornerback to safety in college.
King hears that there weren’t many trade calls made on Wednesday, but that could change today. King anticipates the Ravens to call around and gauge interest in their No. 6 pick. He anticipates that the Titans (No. 15) will continue to look into trading up for a tackle. The Dolphins (No. 13) could try and move up for Ezekiel Elliott if the Cowboys don’t beat them to the punch. The Jaguars (No. 5) and Browns (No. 8), he expects, will “aggressively” try to move down.
King doesn’t believe that the Jets or Browns will take Paxton Lynch.
Despite talk of a slide, King guesses that Myles Jack will not fall out of the top 15. The Giants have reportedly taken the UCLA product off of their board and other teams with interest are thinking about having him sign an injury waiver before selecting him.

South Notes: Joeckel, Hasselbeck, Saints

February 28th, 2016 at 6:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Jaguars have not decided on whether or not to pick up Luke Joeckel‘s fifth-year option, Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union reports.

“It’s something we’re working through,” GM Dave Caldwell told media, including O’Halloran. “I know [the coaches] are going through all the film from last year and that will take the off-season and until the players come back. No decision has been made on that.”

Joeckel has not been what the Jaguars envisioned when they selected him No. 2 overall in 2013, and he turned in another underwhelming season in 2015, ranking at No. 50 on Pro Football Focus’ grades for tackles.

The Chiefs are facing a similar decision with 2013 No. 1 pick Eric Fisher in the tackle-rich draft, while the Eagles already extended their No. 4 pick, right tackle Lane Johnson, earlier this offseason. Last year, the cost for exercising fifth-year options on offensive linemen picked at Nos. 1-10 was $11.096MM.

O’Halloran theorizes the Jags are potentially waiting to see if Laremy Tunsil slips to them at No. 5. If not, he writes, the team will pick up Joeckel’s option. But if the Ole Miss prospect does somehow escape the top four picks, Jacksonville would be inclined to take him and pass on Joeckel’s 2017 season.

Here’s the latest from some of the league’s southernmost squads.

Caldwell told media the Jags aren’t far under the league’s salary floor, according to O’Halloran. With the CBA mandating teams spend 89% of their cash over a four-year period, the Jaguars and Raiders reside under that threshold for 2013-16. An Associated Press report on Feb. 4 placed the Jags at $28MM under this mark. Although the Jaguars have the most cap room in the league at $80.07MM, they have until the 2016 league year ends next March to reach the salary floor. “We haven’t [reached it], but we’re close,” Caldwell told media. “We don’t have to spend to the cap to get there. Trust me, we’ll have no issue getting to where we need to be.”
We heard earlier today the Colts will move away from Matt Hasselbeck as their backup quarterback. Financial discipline is at the root of this, according to Stephen Holder of the Indanapolis Star (Twitter links). Hasselbeck signed a one-year, $3MM deal to stay in Indianapolis last year and occupied $3.5MM and $3.75MM cap holds for the Colts in 2013 and ’14, respectively. Despite formerly signing a lucrative extension with the Bucs a few years ago before a career-altering swoon, Josh Freeman‘s only set to take up $760K of the Colts’ cap in 2016. The Colts will likely add additional inexpensive depth behind Andrew Luck, considering Freeman was playing in the Fall Experimental Football League last year.
The Saints met with Paxton Lynch at the Combine, Christopher Dabe of NOLA.com reports. Although the ex-Memphis quarterback seems to have fallen behind Jared Goff and Carson Wentz, he’s still considered a first-round prospect. Drew Brees has just one year remaining on his current contract and turned 37 in January, but as Dabe points out, the Saints used one of their 60 permitted prospect summits on Jameis Winston last year. The Saints remain committed to extending Brees’ contract.

Jaguars Rumors: Caldwell, Henne, Wisniewski

January 2nd, 2016 at 4:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

As opposed to this past year when the Jaguars extended numerous free agent offers and signed many early in the offseason, their next shopping period won’t be as frenzied.

The Jags won’t have as much money as they did last year and a slight on-field improvement doesn’t leave as many holes to fill, GM Dave Caldwell told the Florida Times-Union’s Ryan O’Halloran.

“I think it’s going to be tough,” Caldwell told O’Halloran on the upcoming market. “But for us, we can really start to narrow down our needs. In the past, we were just trying to get guys come in and plug holes. Now, we can focus on what our 4-5 areas of needs are and be aggressive instead of saying, ‘Shoot, we have 16 or 18 needs so let’s see who we can get.”

Caldwell said Jacksonville will have “one to two” targets on Day 1 of free agency, which is March 15.

As of now, the Jags possess $43.14MM of cap space, which is fourth in the league behind the Raiders, Bears and Buccaneers. O’Halloran expects the team to release Chris Clemons and Toby Gerhart, clearing up an additional $7.5MM.

Here are some more notes from the Southern franchises.

The Jaguars will likely offer Chad Henne a contract paying him around the $3.5MM-per-year deal he’s finishing Sunday, O’Halloran notes. In a piece detailing the team’s roster going into 2016, O’Halloran expects Marcedes Lewis to remain with the Jaguars. This runs counter to the logic that dictated the longtime tight end would be jettisoned after Julius Thomas‘ lucrative accord, but a thin tight end class and the 10th-year player accepting his backup role, in O’Halloran’s view, looks to keep him in Jacksonville. Lewis, though, will be a free agent entering his age-32 season off of a campaign that’s thus far included just 15 receptions for 181 yards and no scores.
Stefen Wisniewski‘s status in Jacksonville is uncertain after the fifth-year center signed a one-year pact late during last year’s free agency. The former Raiders snapper said he’s “open to anything” in terms of a return to the Jaguars, Vito Stellino of the Times-Union reports. Wisniewski rates as Pro Football Focus’ No. 18 center.
Jacksonville wouldn’t be smart to allocate any resources to adding wideout help, either in free agency or the draft, Hays Carlyon of the Times-Union writes. Both Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns under contract for two more seasons on incredibly affordable deals, and backups Rashad Greene and Marqise Lee remain projects.

Jaguars Owner on Bradley, Caldwell, Future

October 24th, 2015 at 9:04am CST by Ben Levine

The Jaguars certainly spent some money this offseason, committing more than $70MM in guaranteed money to the likes of Julius Thomas, Jared Odrick, Jermey Parnell, Davon House, Dan Skuta and Tyson Alualu.

Ownership certainly hasn’t received the production they had been anticipating, as the Jaguars have gotten off to a 1-5 start. This has led some to question the job security of head coach Gus Bradley and general manager Dave Caldwell.

Prior to his team’s game in London tomorrow, owner Shad Khan was clear that no changes are imminent, but he did acknowledge that his franchise is struggling. To see what else the owner had to say, check out some other quotes below, all via Ryan O’Halloran of Jacksonville.com…

On whether Bradley or Caldwell’s jobs are in jeopardy:

“The only sane – and the only proper thing to do [is to make no in-season changes]. It has never even crossed my mind from that viewpoint.

“Believe me, they want to have success more than any of us do. They’re highly motivated. I think they’re really disappointed we’re not having the success we should [be having]. We have to see how the season unfolds. There is more than half the season out there and then we’ll be able to see what’s been done.”

On whether the team has taken a step back from 2014:

“Life in general and football in particular, it’s not a straight line going up. We know where the starting point was and we want to see where the ending point is and what the journey has been over the last three years.”

On whether the team has enough roster talent to be competitive:

“There are a lot of pieces in place there are certainly a lot of reasons for encouragement. But eventually, the way you measure a football team, or any sports team, is by wins and losses.

“It’s very, very important that we don’t become a victim of the status quo. The performance and actions on the field is what dictate [what happens] going forward.”

South Notes: Jags, Brooks, Saints, Mariota

October 22nd, 2015 at 2:41pm CST by Luke Adams

Through at least the 2020 season, EverBank Field will continue to host seven Jaguars regular season games annually, rather than eight, as we learned earlier today. With Jacksonville having extended its relationship with Wembley Stadium through 2020, with an option for five additional years, the Jags will play at least one home game per year overseas for the foreseeable future.

While that announcement wasn’t a surprise, it’s worth keeping an eye on the Jags’ schedule over the next few years to see if they spend even more time in the United Kingdom. The team is a good candidate to become the first to play two consecutive games in London — likely one as a home team and one as a road team. Additionally, once Tottenham’s new stadium opens in 2018, the Jags would look like a prime candidate to play games there as well, given owner Shad Khan’s fondness for the market.

Here’s more on Khan, the Jaguars, and some other teams from the NFL’s two South divisions:

While Khan is disappointed with the Jaguars‘ 1-5 record to open the 2015 season, he said today that he still has “a huge amount of confidence” in GM Dave Caldwell and head coach Gus Bradley, writes Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union.
Texans guard Brandon Brooks, who figures to be one of the more intriguing free agents at his position in 2016, was impressed by Marshal Yanda‘s new contract with the Ravens, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. “Not bad at all,” Brooks said. “He deserves it.” For his part, Brooks could end up seeking a similar deal this winter.
Drew Brees is 36, and it’s time for the Saints to face reality and think about the future of the position, writes Pat Yasinskas of WalterFootball.com. Although Brees is coming off his best game of the season against Atlanta, Yasinskas rightly notes that there have been some signs that the veteran signal-caller is slowing down. If the Saints finish near the bottom of the league this year, they may have a chance to draft California quarterback Jared Goff, and that’s a pick that Yasinskas endorses.
Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota didn’t take part in practice today, and head coach Ken Whisenhunt said that tomorrow’s practice will reveal a lot about the QB’s availability for Week 7 (Twitter links via Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com). Reports on the severity of Mariota’s injury have varied, with some suggesting he could be sidelined for multiple weeks, while others have indicated he should play this weekend.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Extra Points: Houston, Thomas, Vikings, Jaguars

July 18th, 2015 at 8:32pm CST by Rob DiRe

Justin Houston signed the richest contract in the history of the Chiefs organization, and his teammates are just as excited for the star pass rusher than he is for himself, writes Chris Bumbaca of the Kansas City Star. Receiver Junior Hemingway and safety Sanders Commings both had great things to say about their teammate’s new deal.

“To have Justin back, man, it’s a good move for us. We can keep pushing, keep doing what we’re doing as a team, keep building, keep grinding, and get going — and try and get this ring,” said Hemingway. “In my eyes, he’s the best. His work ethic, just the person who he is, just being around him, you can feed off of that.”

“That guy deserves every penny. He’s one of the hardest workers on the team — most vocal leader, also leads by example,” said Commings. “He makes it easy on the rest of the defense. He can make a play before it even gets started, getting to their quarterback so fast.”

Another AFC West star with a new deal added more headlines at a Broncos press conference, where Demaryius Thomas boldly claimed he will be chasing 2,000 receiving yards, write Troy Renck of the Denver Post. He will take over for Andre Johnson and Steve Smith as the number one option in the Gary Kubiak offense.
Kyle Rudolph should return to his place at the top of the Vikings depth chart after missing significant time with injury last season, but the roster behind him is up in the air. Rhett Ellison, Chase Ford, fifth-round pick MyCole Pruitt, and the onside kick pariah Brandon Bostick will all battle for spots on the roster. Master Tesfatsion of the Star Tribune posits that Pruitt is a lock to make the team, meaning last year’s blocking specialist Ellison and receiving specialist Ford will have to fight each other out for what is likely the third and final spot on the roster. Tesfatsion notes that Bostwick would need a strong showing to be in position for that last spot in the team.
The Jaguars haven’t been good in what seems like forever, but general manager Dave Caldwell is rebuilding the team from the trenches out. Ryan O’Halloran of Jacksonville.com points out that the team has devoted 20.6% of the salary cap to the offensive line, and 27.7% to the defensive line. (There is also an excellent story about wide receivers coach Jerry Sullivan and his relationship to legendary defensive coordinator Bill Arnsparger, who passed away on Friday).

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