Gene Frenette: Jaguars must balance future Allen, Ridley contracts with offseason roster upheaval

Among the more compelling offseason story lines, providing the Jacksonville Jaguars wait that long to do something about it, is how the front-office will address their best pass-rusher, Josh Allen, and top receiver Calvin Ridley both being on expiring contracts.

The Jaguars could either let them test the free-agent market, sign them to long-team deals or slap one with the franchise tag by the March 5, 2024, deadline. Letting them go is risky and it probably wouldn’t be well received in the locker room, especially Allen having a five-year investment with the team and has the fans’ admiration for his loyalty.

Allen, the runaway team leader with 9.0 sacks, should be No. 1 on the Jaguars’ list of unrestricted free agents to be re-signed because the pass-rush behind him is so pedestrian.

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Now, that could improve with Dawuane Smoot back as the top rotational edge rusher and DaVon Hamilton returning from a back infection to improve a stagnant interior rush. It’s just that Allen, given his consistency in applying pressure, feels like an indispensable commodity.

The challenge for general manager Trent Baalke will be how to balance Allen’s future with that of pending free agent Ridley, who commands the most attention from defenses. He opens things up for receiver Christian Kirk and tight end Evan Engram to have more production.

Baalke could apply the franchise tag to one and sign the other to a long-term extension, but that likely won’t happen during the season.

So there’s no telling what Allen or Ridley might do come February if the only choices are signing a long-term contract or testing the free-agent market. That’s why the Jaguars could well seek the insurance policy of a franchise tag so as to ensure not losing both players.

Under the trade terms the Jaguars made with the Atlanta Falcons to acquire Ridley, they would owe a third-round 2024 draft pick if he meets any one of expected playing time or production numbers. It becomes a second-rounder if the Jaguars sign Ridley to a long-term deal, which could make a franchise tag on the receiver more appealing.

That’s one of myriad factors in what the team decides to do with their high-profile free agents. It must also consider this: long-term extensions are surely on the horizon for Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne, Tyson Campbell and Andre Cisco, which is part of the price the Jaguars must pay for finally having team success with an open Super Bowl window.

Also in the crop of 22 free agents are important cogs like return specialist Jamal Agnew, kicker Brandon McManus, cornerback Tre Herndon, guard Tyler Shatley, newly acquired guard Ezra Cleveland and Smoot.

The Jaguars must deal with the sobering reality that they can’t keep everybody, which is why guard Brandon Scherff, Rayshawn Jenkins and others may be salary cap casualties, while some of those aforementioned free agents will be playing elsewhere in 2024.

How the Jaguars handle Allen and Ridley figures to be the first big offseason story. As Allen’s sack totals go up, so will his market price, which just increased after pass-rushers Montez Sweat (Chicago Bears) and Rashan Gary (Green Bay Packers) signed four-year extensions worth $105-107 million.

Both Sweat and Gary were drafted in 2019 with Allen and have fewer career sacks than the Jaguars’ outside linebacker, who has 36.5 in 65 games.

Baalke has a lot on his plate as he plots the upcoming Jaguars roster turnover. Allen and Ridley will be expensive pieces to retain.

The challenge for Baalke is trying to keep them while balancing the price of success with the Jaguars’ other core pieces.

Coughlin getting overdue Pride honor

One of the reasons it took so long for Tom Coughlin to get into the Pride of the Jaguars, which the team announced Thursday, was timing.

While Coughlin was always a slam-dunk candidate to be honored, it took forever for the Jaguars and their first head coach to find an appropriate time.

They couldn’t do it during his 12 years serving as the New York Giants head coach (2004-15). After the Jaguars hired Coughlin in 2017, they went to the AFC Championship game, only to see him fired in Dec. 2019, after the NFL Players Association advised free agents to not sign with the Jaguars due to his reported disregard for player rights.

With that separation, it was too awkward to put Coughlin in the Pride at that time. Then he had to go through the personal ordeal of being a caregiver for his late wife, Judy. All the turmoil from those events made the Jaguars hesitant to honor Coughlin right then, but as time passed, there’s a more let-bygones-be-bygones attitude from both sides.

That’s a good thing because with all Coughlin accomplished in his eight seasons as the Jaguars’ coach (1995-2002), taking an expansion team to two AFC title games within five years, and all the community goodwill with his Jay Fund charity, he deserves to go up in the Pride. It’s time for the Jaguars to let Coughlin take his rightful place alongside the likes of Tony Boselli, Mark Brunell, Jimmy Smith, Fred Taylor and former owners Wayne and Delores Weaver.

That means one big box left for Coughlin to check: a future election into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Hopefully, the Giants’ two-time Super Bowl championship coach won’t have to wait on that too much longer.

Historic Jaguars streak

When the Jaguars went 5-0 in the month of October, doing so at five different stadiums, it marked the first time since the 1987 New Orleans Saints that any NFL franchise pulled off that feat.

Doug Pederson’s team won at Wembley Stadium (Atlanta Falcons), Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (Buffalo Bills), EverBank Stadium (Indianapolis Colts), Caesars Superdome (New Orleans) and Acrisure Stadium (Pittsburgh Steelers), outscoring opponents by an average margin of 11.0 points.

The ‘87 Saints under coach Jim Mora — led by quarterback Bobby Hebert and a stout defense starring Hall of Fame linebacker Rickey Jackson — won their games at Fulton County Stadium (Atlanta Falcons), Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (L.A. Rams), Candlestick Park (San Francisco 49ers), Louisiana Superdome (New York Giants) and Three Rivers Stadum (Pittsburgh Steelers).

More: Gene Frenette: Baalke standing pat with Jaguars' pass rush was right move under circumstances

Myers may take different path

More than a year after he committed to Florida baseball, Bartram Trail infielder Kolt Myers officially signed with the Gators this week as he will likely pursue a different path to a potential major-league career than his father.

Brett Myers, a No. 12 overall draft pick of the Philadelphia Phillies in 1999, chose to bypass college at Florida to chase his big-league dream. He got up to the Phillies in 2002 and lasted 12 seasons with four different MLB teams, winning a World Series with Philly in 2008.

Kolt, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound third baseman, is considered among the top 200 prospects in the country. So depending on how he progress at Bartram Trail through his senior season, the younger Myers could be a fairly high draft pick and get an enticing enough offer to turn pro.

If Kolt sticks to playing for the Gators, he would be the first son of a former Jacksonville area big leaguer to be part of a nationally prominent Division I baseball program since pitcher Tanner Witt joined the Texas Longhorns in 2021.

Witt was drafted in the 18th round of the 2023 MLB draft by the Baltimore Orioles, but elected to return to school. Tanner is the son of Kevin Witt, a former Bishop Kenny High star and first-round draft pick of the Toronto Blue Jays (1994), who played five MLB seasons with four different teams.

Quick-hitting nuggets

Going into Sunday’s Jaguars-San Francisco 49ers game, the AFC holds a 31-18 lead over the NFC this season in cross-conference games, taking command after the NFC went 6-0 in the first two weeks. It continues a two-decade trend with the AFC holding a 698-638 lead over the NFC in regular-season matchups, plus a 12-8 edge in Super Bowl matchups since 2003. The Jaguars are 42-74 against the NFC in their history. …

University of North Florida basketball coach Matthew Driscoll said this week that his Ospreys would be “definitely a higher volume three-point team than we’ve ever been before” in his 15 seasons. Then he boldly predicted UNF’s “Birds of Trey” might attempt as many as 40 three-pointers per game. Over 31 games, that would be 1,240 attempts. The school record is 1,031 in 2019-20. …

Pigskin forecast

San Francisco 49ers over Jaguars by 1 (greater sense of urgency); Tampa Bay Buccaneers over Tennessee Titans by 1 (wild-card push); Cincinnati Bengals over Houston Texans by 7 (QB highlights); Baltimore Ravens over Cleveland Browns by 4 (old-school highlight hits); LSU over Florida by 6 (concussion protocol vigils); Florida State over Miami by 10 (fight separations); UCF over Oklahoma State by 1 (perfect letdown setup). Last week: 3 right, 4 Danny Kanell Jaguars’ fans evaluations.

Gfrenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540; Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @genefrenette  

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Dealing with Allen, Ridley contract issues is Jaguars' big offseason challenge