JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A year ago at this time, I thought the Jacksonville Jaguars franchise was positioned in the best place it had been in the history of the franchise.
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A new stadium possibly on the horizon. A playoff run. A franchise quarterback. A Super Bowl winning coach. A good roster.
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Twelve months later and following a late-season collapse, it’s hard to say I’m as bullish as I was in 2023, but the ingredients are still in place to be a contender for the rest of the decade.
The stadium deal looks like it could be on the horizon. The Jaguars might be on the verge of extending Trevor Lawrence. Doug Pederson is still the head coach. The free agency and draft added pieces to a locker room that has some good core parts.
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The feeling is back to the “you have to prove it” mode for the football team and there’s more friction than existed a year ago within their own division. Houston is now the team to beat and Indianapolis could be a contender.
There’s a good chance the Jaguars will play a very exciting brand of football this fall with the ability to open the passing game down field. Now, they just need to do it. They need to win and win the division. Trevor needs to take that next step. Pederson needs to fix what went wrong during the tailspin.
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We have labeled this one of the most important off seasons in Jaguars history for a reason. This team has to reclaim contender status or risk pointing the arrow down like it did for more than a decade in Jacksonville.
We discussed this topic on the Brent & Austen Show this week. You can listen to the show by clicking here:
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