FanHouse Jacksonville

After the Jacksonville Jaguars spent most of their draft on two SEC pass rushers, Paul Spicer wanted to make sure he still had a place on this team. Turns out he had nothing to worry about.

Spicer signed a three-year $10.5 million deal with the Jaguars yesterday. The veteran defensive end had skipped voluntary workouts for a couple of weeks to express his displeasure with the lack of a new deal, but it's all worked out for him -- and just in time, too, since he's getting married in a couple of weeks.

Of course, with Derrick Harvey and Quentin Groves waiting in the wings, the question now is how long Spicer remains a starter. He's recorded 18 sacks in the last three seasons, so it's unlikely that the rookies will replace him immediately. Still, the Jags seem eager to add some youth to their pass rush, and Spicer is 32, which means this will very likely be his last NFL contract. The team might have him tutoring his replacements more than playing by the end of it.

Still, that's not a terrible way to go. How many teachers do you know that make $3.5 million a year?

Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Mike Walker, a 3rd-round draft pick in 2007, impressed his coaching staff at minicamp last season, leading many (including us) to speculate that he might get a starting job with the team. Then he suffered a knee injury in training camp and missed the 2008 season.

Well, contradicting some previous reports, Walker seems to have recovered from that knee injury and is making a big impression in Jaguars' minicamp once again. Jaguars.com editor Vic Ketchman is just one writer impressed with Walker's catching radius.

Draw a stick man. Now draw a circle around his body that represents the zone in which your stick man is capable of catching a football. How high can he go? How low can he go? Can he go as far to his left as he can to his right? Now connect the dots. That's your stick man's catching radius. Walker has a good one.

Ketchman also says, though, that Walker's NFL future depends entirely on his knee. If it remains healthy, Walker has the potential to be a starter, rather than just a great player in minicamps. That would be a good thing for the Jags, who have a strange predilection for signing receivers who can't catch. Maybe that's why they're still struggling to sell tickets.

NFL teams love sigining discarded players from division rivals, if for no other reason than to pick their brains -- which ends up being all they ever do with those players most of the time. After all, there's a reason those players were dscarded in the first place. Still, insight into an opponent's playbook is always valuable, so NFL teams will keep looking for free agents who have that.

This is the primary reason why former Indianapolis Colts receiver Craphonso Thorpe (Craphonso!) signed a deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars last weekend. The Jags probably aren't all that interested in him as a receiver, even if he probably could play better than Matt Jones. They just want to know a little more about the inner workings of the Colts' pass-heavy offense, and who better to tell them about it than a former Colt receiver?

I suspect there's a pretty slim chance that Thorpe will make the final cut. This particular story seems more likely to end with either a practice squad offer or a nice big "injury settlement check" that will leave other teams free to give him a shot. Still, if Craphonso! can help the Jags can get a leg up on their AFC South rivals, it's worth a shot, right?

Jaguars fans, try to remember to breathe. I know you don't want to hear that your $30 million receiver blew out a hammy in workouts last week. Just remind yourself, "It's only May ... It's only May ..."

To his credit, Jerry Porter is taking a very cautious approach to his recovery.

"I'll take it slow. I don't want to rush back into it because a hamstring can be a reoccurring thing if you don't respect it.

"A lot of things are accomplished in May and June, but championships aren't won in May and June."

Exactly. Porter won't play in a meaningful game for another three months. Why try to get back on the field for those "Organized Team Activities" now? It's not like he couldn't spend extra time in the film room with David Garrard and the other receivers, learning the playbook and discussing strategies, right?

I have a feeling Porter will be constantly telling reporters that his hamstring is fine when training camp starts. I suspect Jack Del Rio hopes that's true.

Jim Brown is still the gold standard for NFL running backs. It doesn't matter how many other players pass him on the list for most career rushing yards. Brown's 12,312 yards stood as a record for almost two decades, and it still remains a milestone for other running backs.

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Fred Taylor gets this. That's why he told Vic Ketchman, editor of the team's web site, that he wants to pass Jim Brown on the all-time rushing yards list before he retires. Last week after a team workout with several Jaguars rookies, Taylor hinted he might stick around even after he passes Brown.

Clearly, moving ahead of the man that even Barry Sanders' father says is the best NFL running back of all time is a worthy goal -- especially since it will be that much harder to keep a guy who passes Brown out of the Hall of Fame.

Taylor is 1,597 yards short of Brown's yardage mark, so unless he has a career year, he probably won't pass that mark until 2009. Only seven other running backs have passed Brown on the all-time rushing yards list, and Taylor is one of three active backs within reach of 12,312 yards. The other two are Edgerrin James (11,617 yards) and LaDainian Tomlinson (10,543 yards).

When the Jacksonville Jaguars traded defensive tackle after Marcus Stroud to Buffalo, a lot of people (myself included) figured they would use a draft pick or a free agent signing on someone new to start next to John Henderson. Jack Del Rio, however, believes Stroud's replacement has been there all along.

Rob Meier signed a 4-year extension with the Jaguars today, which reports say is the result of him taking a much bigger role on the defensive line. Terms were not disclosed, but he's expected to make more than the $2.095 million he was due this year.

Meier had four sacks last season, plus one more against Pittsburgh in the playoffs, and that was after spending half the season as a backup, so clearly the Jaguars believe he can be effective at putting pressure on the quarterback from the inside of the line -- and Del Rio really wants the Jags' defense to pressure quarterbacks next season.

Meanwhile, defensive end Paul Spicer is reportedly not as happy with the contract the Jaguars offered him. That might change in a hurry if Derrick Harvey proves to be a monster in minicamp.

It's no secret that the NFL wants a team in Los Angeles. Rumors persist of various franchises leaving their homes and going out west -- or, in the case of the San Diego Chargers, going north about 120 miles. Tom Benson might have moved the Saints there already if it weren't for Hurricane Katrina.

It's the Jacksonville Jaguars, though, that seem to be the team everyone wants to put in L.A., mostly because they're a small-market team still struggling to sell tickets, and few outside of that city would blink if they moved.

Put it out of your head. As Vic Ketchman of Jaguars.com reminds us, NFL teams don't move because they can't sell out their stadium. Indeed, they move because of the stadium itself.

The Browns left Cleveland because of a stadium issue. That's why the Rams left Los Angeles, the Colts left Baltimore, the Cardinals left St. Louis and the Oilers left Houston. Down through history, stadium issues have usually been the reason teams have left one city for another. The Jaguars, however, don't have a stadium issue. As far as I know, the stadium situation here is fine, so don't compare the Jaguars to the Browns, Rams, Colts, Cardinals, Raiders, etc.

Jacksonville Jaguars 2008 Draft Picks:

8. Derrick Harvey, DE, Florida
52. Quentin Groves, DE, Auburn
155. Thomas Williams, OLB, USC
159. Trae Williams, CB, South Florida
213. Chauncey Washington, RB, USC

The Good: The Jaguars believed they only needed a stronger pass rush to challenge the Colts, and it went all-out to get it, trading up to get Derrick Harvey and grabbing Quentin Groves on the first day. If you believe Jaguars.com editor Vic Ketchman, the Jaguars got point chart-shattering value out of their trade with the Ravens. They also got a decent value pick out of South Florida's other cornerback, Trae Williams.

The Bad: Value or no value, they gave up a lot of picks to get Harvey, which is a huge gamble on their part. Plus, while they took care of their defensive ends, they added no depth at defensive tackle behind John Henderson and Rob Meier, and they took fliers on a couple of seemingly random guys from Southern Cal -- something that won't quell the rumors that the Jaguars could move to L.A. (Later this week, though, I'll tell you why such a move won't happen.)

The Jacksonville Jaguars came into this draft thinking they needed just a few key players to overcome the Indianapolis Colts. They got their receiver and their cornerback in free agency. They needed a pass rusher in the draft. They certainly got that in Derrick Harvey, but did they give up too much to get him?

Maybe. According to NFL Network, the Jaguars gave the Baltimore Ravens their 1st round pick, two 3rd-round picks and a 4th-round pick to get Harvey. Forget about the point-value chart, which says that the Ravens gave up a lot of value. The Jaguars spent four picks to get one guy.

On the other hand, this is a team that doesn't really need to build in the draft right now. The Jaguars are ready to make a push for the AFC South title this year. They don't need depth from this draft. They need impact players now, and they weren't going to get a real impact player at a key position with the 26th pick.

Jack Del Rio and Shack Harris picked another Florida player last year in Reggie Nelson, and he proved to be a winner. Still, they had better be right about Harvey, because they spent four picks on him. They only spent one on Nelson.

While Jason Taylor is off dancing the night away on ABC, his future with the Miami Dolphins remains in doubt.

Clark Judge of CBSsports.com is reporting that at least two teams have been approached by the Dolphins to discuss the possibility of trading the All-Pro defensive end for a first-round pick. This, of course, is despite Bill Parcells' protests that Taylor will stay in Miami and we're all irresponsible morons for reporting otherwise.

Now here's my question -- are the Jacksonville Jaguars one of those teams talking to the Dolphins about Taylor? More importantly, should they?

Yes, the Jaguars are looking to strengthen their defensive line in this draft. They traded away Marcus Stroud and let Bobby McCray go in free agency, and while their pass rush managed 37 sacks last season, Reggie Hayward and Paul Spicer may be starting to decline. However, Taylor himself is 34, older than both Hayward and Spicer, and that may not be the direction Jacksonville wants to go.

Here's the only reason the Jags would consider Taylor -- they want to win now. They have most of the puzzle pieces in place, and they might think Taylor is the last piece to help them topple the Colts in the AFC South. Ultimately, though, I think we should mark this possible trade as possible, but not likely. In the end, Jack Del Rio might decide he's better off with, say, Kentwan Balmer or Calais Campbell.