Shad Khan: We cannot be addicted to free agents, have to develop young players

The Jaguars struck a deal to secure their future in Jacksonville this week and team owner Shad Khan would like to spend less time wading through the free agent market over the course of that future.

Jacksonville signed players like defensive lineman Arik Armstead, wide receiver Gabe Davis, center Mitch Morse and safety Darnell Savage this offseason and they made a lot of other notable additions via that path in recent seasons as they remade their roster. That helped make them a playoff team in 2022 and it set them up for another run in 2023 before a late season collapse, but Khan said this week that he doesn’t want it to be the long-term approach to roster building.

“I think there’s a sea change for us — and this is for our coaching, that they have to develop young players,” Khan said, via the team’s website. “Our solution isn’t going to be we’re going to be signing free agents every year. We don’t have the ability. Bottom line is that young talent has to be developed. The coaching, the coaching staff, their priorities have to change. Their mindset has to change. That’s where we’re going to get our future players. We cannot have this addiction to free agents.”

The Jaguars signed quarterback Trevor Lawrence and edge rusher Josh Allen to long-term deals this offseason, so they’ve developed some young talent in recent years. They’ll need to add to that total in order to fufill Khan’s wish for the future of the franchise.

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/shad-khan-cannot-addicted-free-120105146.html

Author : ProFootball Talk on NBC Sports

Publish date : 2024-06-28 12:01:05

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