Jacksonville Jaguars to sign Joe Schobert: Grade, reaction and more
By John Buhler
Former Cleveland Browns linebacker Joe Schobert plans to sign a five-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars in his impending free agency.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have had a major void in the heart of their defense after Paul Posluszny retired after the magical 2017 NFL season. While it has been a difficult offseason for the Jaguars, they make a great move by signing their Poslusnzy of the future former Cleveland Browns linebacker Joe Schobert.
The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports it will be a five-year deal worth $53.75 million. Schobert will be under contract through his age-30 season in Jacksonville, not hitting free agency again until 2025 at age-31. This is a solid, team-friendly long-term deal that can help the Jaguars in the coming years as they look to rebuild. Schobert also doesn’t have to pay state income taxes now.
With the Jaguars losing a ton of great defensive players this past year in cornerback Jalen Ramsey, cornerback A.J. Bouye, defensive end Calais Campbell and presumably defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, as the Jaguars are expected to trade him to another team after franchise tagging him, Schobert becomes the new face of the Jaguars defense and a promising one for the 2020s.
Here are the contract details, the national reaction and a grade for Schobert going to the Jaguars.
Contract Details
Per Rapoport, it is a five-year contract at $53.75 million. It’ll be an average salary of $10.75 million. Schobert will get $12 million upon signing the contract on Wednesday and $22.5 million of the $53.75 million will be fully guaranteed.
The Jaguars made a bold statement by making Schobert the new leader of their defense in the wake of losing Posluszny and Campbell recently.
National Reaction
Former #Browns LB Joe Schobert is headed to the #Jaguars on a 5-year, $53.75M deal, source said. He gets an average of $10.75M per year. $12M to sign and $22.5M guaranteed. A new face on that Jax defense.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 17, 2020
Jaguars to sign LB Joe Schobert to five-year, $53.75M deal. (via @Rapsheet)
— NFL (@NFL) March 17, 2020
(by @snickers) pic.twitter.com/7QVEP43Uvm
Wild week for Joe Schobert, whose wife had a baby boy last week. Days later, he's $50-plus million richer.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 17, 2020
Down year in 2019, but Schobert ranked 2nd in PFF coverage grade among LBs in 2018 pic.twitter.com/fQI6UTIpiU
— PFF (@PFF) March 17, 2020
Joe Schobert to the @Jaguars, per @NFL. Great signing that bolsters the middle of that defense.
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) March 17, 2020
This deal is coming across as one of the better tentative signings made in free agency up to this point. Of course, this deal cannot be official until the start of the new league year on Wednesday. However, this contract is the right length and the right dollar amount for a player still yet to hit his prime. Despite a down year in 2019, Schobert was Pro Bowler as a second year player in 2017.
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Schobert is a tackling machine and has great coverage skills for a linebacker. With only three career games missed in his four years with the Browns, Jacksonville landed a culture changer on defense for a reasonable price. He doesn’t have to be the best player on this new era of the Jaguars defense, but he’s being paid to be the tone setter this organization desperately needs.