Jacksonville

Jaguars

It was a known issue for Jacksonville, but hardly ideal for either team or player after Robinson missed the final five games of 2022 with a knee issue. He will miss games against the Colts, Chiefs, Texans and Falcons before being eligible to return in Week 5 against the Bills. Although he is no one’s idea of an elite blindside protector, Robinson’s loss will stretch the Jags’ unimpressive tackle depth. First-round pick Anton Harrison and Walker Little figure to man the Jags’ starting tackle spots while Robinson is sidelined.

”...and even could out-touch him in some games depending on who has the hot hand,” the sentence finishes. Bigsby looks like he’ll be a long-shot to be a true three-down back, at least early in his career, but he could wind up as the primary backup back in a good offense early in his career, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he was able to put together a goal-line role. That does carry some fantasy value.

The Broncos made the surprising move to part ways with Brandon McManus last week. McManus was a franchise staple since joining Denver in 2014 but struggled in 2022. With a new regime led by Sean Payton in town, the Broncos chose to release him. Fry only has three NFL appearances to his name and was cut by the Jags with an injury settlement during training camp last year. Denver will likely look to add completion for Fry at some point this summer.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported in April that Engram wasn’t expected to participate in voluntary workouts as he and the Jaguars look to reach an agreement on a long-term extension. Engram was franchise tagged by the Jaguars earlier this offseason, but GM Trent Baalke has already expressed confidence in the two sides working out a deal. Engram posted a career-high 766 receiving yards on his one-year prove-it deal with the Jags and was leaned on heavily during the season’s final two months. He’ll have some low-end TE1 upside this season and is a threat to go off for a big game on any given week.

That figure comes from how often the Jaguars used Etienne after jettisoning James Robinson. Jaguars coach Doug Pederson praised the depth added at running back in D’Ernest Johnson and Tank Bigsby, saying “this is one of the stronger rooms on the team.” Etienne said of a committee approach: “I feel like it keeps the wear and tear off my body ... I don’t have to go and bang myself up each and every play.” Jaguars OC Press Taylor said the team doesn’t have a breakdown of how it will go just yet, but added that “there’s a possibility of keeping everybody fresh through the long run of the season.” Etienne’s ADP is hovering near 40 and he stands to be on the strong side of a committee, but it very well could be a committee this year for the Jaguars now that they’ve invested in the position.

Before the Jaguars could release Patterson, the Lions swooped in. Patterson was usurped in Jacksonville by Brandon McManus, and now he heads to the kneecap-biters for what amounts to little compensation. Michael Badgley and John Parker Romo are kickers currently on Detroit’s roster that have now been put on notice. Patterson has hit 88% of his field-goal attempts through two seasons, one of which was in Detroit in 2021.

The team on Thursday signed former Broncos K Brandon McManus and parted ways with Patterson, who made 30 of 35 field goal tries in 2022. An 88 percent field goal kicker through two NFL seasons, Patterson will probably compete for a starting job elsewhere this summer.

The Broncos this week released McManus, the team’s kicker since 2014. He struggled through much of the 2022 season, making 28 of his 36 field goal tries and converting just eight of 13 attempts from over 50 yards. McManus, 31, will get Jacksonville’s starting gig barring some sort of collapse in training camp or the preseason. The Jags, meanwhile, released K Riley Patterson after inking McManus. McManus shapes up as a sneaky late-round selection in 12-team redraft leagues this summer. Jacksonville had the NFL’s 11th most field goal tries last season.

Begin the hype for Ridley’s return from a gambling suspension. Ridley separating himself from Christian Kirk early is a good sign for Ridley’s ability to be the true No. 1 in Jacksonville. Press Taylor told reporters that “we’re very confident in the player we’re getting.” Ridley has a top-40 ADP on most best ball sites and is one of the top 20 wideouts on the board. He’ll need to separate himself from Kirk to live up to that draft position.

McManus broke the news himself in a Tuesday morning Twitter post. Denver’s kicker since 2014, McManus fell off a bit in 2022, making 28 of his 36 field goal tries, slightly below his career conversion rate of 81.4 percent. He also missed five of his 13 attempts of more than 50 yards. It appears Sean Payton is intent on cleaning house in Denver, including the team’s good players. Look for Payton to sign a former Saints kicker in the coming days. McManus, 31, will be scooped up quickly by a kicker-needy team. The Cowboys, for one, would make an excellent fit.