Jags free agency: Ezra Cleveland info overload

The Jacksonville Jaguars re-signed left guard Ezra Cleveland to a three-year, $28.5 million deal. Is that good?

Left guard Ezra Cleveland will be re-signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars on a three-year deal worth $28.5 million, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on Thursday.

We’re going to break down the move and dish out grades here, but don’t forget to see how Twitter reacted and browse our extensive Jaguars free agency tracker.

Background

• Born on May 8, 1998 (25 years old) in Spanaway, WA
• Drafted by the Vikings in the second round (58th overall) in 2020 out of Boise St.
• Traded to the Jaguars on Oct. 31, 2023, for a 2024 sixth-round pick
• Played 63 of a possible 68 career games with 55 starts (including playoffs)
• 45 starts (47 appearances) at LG; 9 (9) at RG; 1 (1) at LT; 4 games of just special teams
• Accolades: 2x first-team All-MW in college

Quotes

Head coach Doug Pederson on Monday, November 6, 2023 (post-trade)

“Ezra we knew was a good player and started the first six games for Minnesota this year and then he had a setback with an injury. It kept him out of the last couple of games in Minnesota, but anytime that you can add depth and add value, you can add talent like Ezra to the offensive line or really any position, it’s something that Trent and I and the guys looked at hard … He’s very capable, smart, talented left guard. He played some right guard his rookie year and has been primarily left guard since. It’s just a good value for us and really solidifies an offensive line that is already pretty good.”

“… I think you have to look at long-term as well. The age of our offensive linemen, Brandon Scherff, as great as he’s been playing, he’s not getting any younger. Tyler Shatley isn’t getting any younger. You’ve got to have guys that are very capable that are going to be on your roster. You definitely have to look at long-term I think in situations like this. Definitely the player himself, Ezra himself knows he’s in a basically a contract-year as well, so he’s willing to come to Jacksonville and be a backup for now understanding that there are no guarantees in this business. But I do think it definitely could turn into a long-term situation for him where he could definitely compete and be in a position to help us move forward.”

Pederson on Thursday, November 9, 2023 (post-trade)

“Yeah, [his relationship with offensive line coach Phil Rauscher is] definitely a big part of it. We know what we’re adding to our locker room and that’s very important here with the way we’ve built this team and this roster. Having somebody that can personally vouch for him and his character and how he is as a teammate, that was a big deal for us. Obviously, we like the skillset, we like what he’s capable of doing, we like his experience in the league, his experience playing for one of our position coaches. Obviously, our language is different so he’s having to learn that, that’s the biggest adjustment. He’s been very diligent about it, he’s been in the building since the day he’s got here, he’s been here pretty much the whole time. Just meeting with Phil, meeting with Todd Washington, spending time around Brandon Scherff and all of those guys just to make sure we’re all on the same page and we don’t miss a beat when he gets a chance to roll.”

Pederson on Monday, November 20, 2023 (Week 12)

“Ezra did well. First time out, you can see his athleticism and his ability to run and get out in space, things of that nature. We just continue to work him in, get him in wherever we can. It’s hard to say that it’ll be every week, but right now, going into this past game, the plan was to get him some snaps. We’ll see as we go each week.”

General manager Trent Baalke on Tuesday, February 27, 2024 (NFL Combine)

“We like Ezra, in fact, we’ll be meeting with his agent sometime this week. I believe it’s Thursday or Friday, we’re meeting with Ron [Slavin]. We’ll sit down and talk, we traded for him for a reason and we think he’s an awfully good football player. We’d like him back. We’d like all of our players back. That’s the way we roll. Unfortunately, you can’t get them all back. We’ll work hard, talk with Ron, his agent, and we’ll talk with Ezra a little bit and see if we can come to an agreement.”

Stats

From Pro Football Reference:

• 2020: 1 penalty; 622 offensive snaps (70%), 57 special teams snaps (16%)
• 2021: 0 penalties; 1,141 offensive snaps (100%), 78 special teams snaps (16%)
• 2022: 4 penalties; 1,134 offensive snaps (97%), 81 special teams snaps (16%)
• 2023: 3 penalties; 748 combined offensive snaps, 54 combined special teams snaps

From Pro Football Focus:

• 2020: 33.2 true pass set grade (76th of 91 guards), 67.5 run block grade (26th of 84)
• 2021: 40.0 true pass set grade (64th of 85 guards), 71.9 run block grade (19th of 85)
• 2022: 43.2 true pass set grade (53rd of 79 guards), 79.7 run block grade (4th of 82)
• 2023: 48.4 true pass set grade (41st of 82 guards), 60.4 run block grade (36th of 85)

From Sports Info Solutions:

• 2020: 2.2% adj. pass block blown rate (48th of 101), 3.4% adj. run blown block rate (88th)
• 2021: 2.5% adj. pass block blown rate (42nd of 93), 1.2% adj. run blown block rate (17th)
• 2022: 3.4% adj. pass blown block rate (68th of 96), 2.8% adj. run blown block rate (64th)
• 2023: 2.6% adj. pass blown block rate (41st of 100), 1.9% adj. run blown block rate (32nd)

Contract

According to Over The Cap, Cleveland’s new deal guarantees him $1.25 million in 2024, $6 million in 2025, and $0 in 2026 with three void years tacked on. Expect an extension, restructure, or release in the 2026 offseason.

That means Cleveland is lined up to compete for Jacksonville’s starting left guard job for at least the next two seasons. He has projected cap hits of $3.59 million in 2024 and $5.2 million in 2025 with numerous incentives.

As of March 8, Cleveland’s contract ranks 7th in total value ($24 million) and 9th in guaranteed money ($14.25 million) among left guards. It ranks 17th in both categories among all guards.

Film

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Reactions

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Grades

This move gets a B- from me. As the quotes above show, Cleveland was always likely to stay in Jacksonville after completing his rookie contract with the Jaguars. He wasn’t overly impressive on the field, but I thought he looked solid on film for the Vikings earlier in the season before sustaining a foot injury, then later toe and knee injuries.

I originally gave the Cleveland acquisition a B+ grade. Recency bias (i.e., the offensive line’s poor performances to close the 2023 season) may not have fans giddy about this new deal, and it has made me adjust to a B-. That said, it could easily swing in the other direction when we look back in a year. Cleveland is still just 25 years old, signed a team-friendly contract with heavy incentives, and will benefit from a full offseason with the Jaguars.

I currently expect him to be the 2024 Week 1 starter at left guard, though I wouldn’t be surprised if Baalke adds competition behind him after harping on it so much at the NFL Combine.

From national media outlets:

ESPN: B-

I like the player, and I love consistency along the offensive line, but Jacksonville probably slightly overpaid to keep a player it hopes is ascending.

Over The Cap: C+

The Jaguars did get pretty hefty per game and workout bonuses in the contract which are always good for the team.

Walter Football: C

Cleveland is a solid guard, though he didn’t perform up to his previous level in Jacksonville.

SB Nation: TBD

The Athletic: TBD

Bleacher Report: TBD

Sports Illustrated: TBD

Fox Sports: TBD

Sharp Football Analysis: TBD

Now it’s your turn!

Let us know your full thoughts in the comments!