Urban Meyer discusses Jaguars’ roster philosophy as trade deadline approaches
With the NFL trade deadline set for next Tuesday at 4 p.m., teams around the league are evaluating their rosters and situations to see if any moves need to be made while they still can. Considering Jacksonville is 1-5 and doesn’t seem to have much hope of competing for a playoff spot this season, it’s unlikely the team will be major buyers at the trade deadline (especially considering it has already traded away a pair of defensive starters this season in Joe Schobert and C.J. Henderson).
However, at his press conference on Monday, coach Urban Meyer didn’t rule out the possibility of the Jaguars making some moves.
“We’re having that hard conversation,” Meyer said. “So much of it (is) who’s going to be healthy the rest of the year and also (what) we keep on offense, how do you build this around your quarterback? What exactly do we need?”
Meyer said that before the season, he sat down with his offensive assistants (and one of his former quarterbacks in Joe Burrow) to figure out what the team needed to make quarterback Trevor Lawrence successful.
“I think last March we had the conversation,” he said. “Well (the number one thing that I remember (Bengals QB) Joe Burrow and (Passing Game Coordinator Brian) Schottenheimer and (Offensive Coordinator Darrell) Bevell, we just had the conversation [that] you have to get a good run game and right now we’re starting to play a little bit. James (Robinson) is really playing well and our offensive line’s playing well. That’s why we got (Chris) Manhertz, that’s why we got Luke (Farrell), Carlos (Hyde). And the other thing, our offensive line, to this point, has kept them upright. The thing we don’t have is when DJ (Chark Jr.) went down, do we have that home run hitter on the outside? I think Laviska (Shenault Jr.)’s playing very well. Marvin (Jones Jr.)’s playing really well. We’re just one speed guy short. It might be (Jamal) Agnew, maybe it’s Tyron [Johnson], maybe it’s something else.”
It’s certainly possible that the Jaguars could look to make a move to acquire a receiver before the deadline, but considering that Agnew has played well as the team’s slot receiver in the wake of Chark’s injury, that seems unlikely.
This team certainly has a lot of remaining needs, but it’s unlikely those needs will be addressed through a trade. Considering the team is struggling, it may be a better option to conserve draft picks rather than try to acquire a starter with a “win now” mentality.
