Jaguars quotes of the week: ‘He’s the complete package’

The biggest quotes from all things Jaguars over the past seven days

Free agency is petering out, and the NFL Draft is ramping up. But what have people been saying about the Jacksonville Jaguars this past week? Here are the best sound bites from the last seven days:

“I felt extremely disrespected”

Lets begin all the way back last Thursday, where one of the Jags’ recent free agency signings was lamenting his former employers. Whilst Arik Armstead was on the Third and Long Podcast, he explained how his departure from the San Francisco 49ers came about – and needless to say he was less than impressed with how they valued his services:

“I felt extremely disrespected. I don’t feel that level of compensation is [anywhere] near the type of player I am. Not even just the type of player I am, but what I’ve committed to the game, what I’ve committed to my team, what I’ve committed to the organization and my community. I didn’t feel like it was representative of who I am as a player or a person.”

Essentially, John Lynch asked Armstead to take a pay cut, something the defensive lineman was unwilling to consider. Considering his production the past nine years with the 9ers, it’s easy to understand his point of view. San Fran’s loss is Jacksonville’s gain – and we can’t wait to see him make Lynch regret his frugality in 2024.

“He is a young player that we’re excited about”

It’s fair to say that, after being selected in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, Tank Bigsby didn’t really have the rookie season that most Jags fans were hoping for. Speaking to the media last week, head coach Doug Pederson acknowledged that there was a lot more to come from Bigsby, and was very much planning to increase his workload in his second year:

“We have to get Tank going, bottom line. He is too good — that’s why we drafted him. I think early he had some ‘what is that?’ type plays for whatever reason, right or wrong. Again, in and out of the lineup. He is a young player that we’re excited about. Like we talked about last year, we take some burden off of Etienne a little bit, keep him healthy for the remainder of the season.”

Travis Etienne had an up and down 2023, probably not helped by having to shoulder the majority of the workload in the backfield. Offering him some support in the form of a galvanized Bigsby would go some way to getting the Jags run game amongst the best in the league.

“As stout as they come against the run”

One interesting piece of news from last week was Foye Oluokun signing a new deal. The standout linebacker topped 100 tackles for the third year in a row in 2023, and has been rewarded with a four year, $45m contract. Whilst questions remain about Trent Baalke’s willingness to plough money into the linebacker position yet let edge rusher Josh Allen sit on the franchise tag, there’s no doubt that Oluokun has been worth every cent of the investment Jacksonville made to bring him over from the Atlanta Falcons in 2022. NFL.com’s Kevin Patra firmly agrees, waxing lyrical about Foye’s production to date:

“A tackling machine, Oluokun has continued his road-clearing ways the past two seasons in Jacksonville. With the Jags, he’s generated 357 combined tackles and led the NFL in solo tackles each of the past two campaigns. The 28-year-old is as stout as they come against the run, a stellar pass rusher when called upon, and is good in coverage. He’s the complete package in the middle of Jacksonville’s defense, and they were wise to lock the playmaker up for the foreseeable future.”

Oluokun might just be the most consistent middle linebacker in the league right now, and will continue to lead the Jags for the foreseeable future.

“He’s a solid plug and play option”

We end this week’s collation of quotes with some trade buzz regarding Cam Robinson. Naturally at this time of year we can get hung up focusing on additions to the team – and it’s eays to forget other fanbases are speculating about bringing in talent as well. In his article for Bleacher Report, Maurice Moton suggested the Kansas City Chiefs may be interested in acquiring the Jags’ left tackle, noting that his contract and a ready-made backup may convince Jacksonville to part ways with the seven-year veteran:

“The 28-year-old has missed games because of injuries and a suspension, but he’s a solid plug-in play option if Kansas City wants a proven starter. Jacksonville could look to Walker Little to take over at left tackle, which could make Robinson expendable and available for a middle-round pick.”

Injuries and suspension significantly ate into Robinson’s playing time in 2023. And with a cap hit of almost $22m this upcoming season, it’s fair to question whether the Jags could let him go. If he follows fellow lineman Jawaan Taylor to Arrowhead, expect Baalke to look for more depth at tackle in the upcoming NFL Draft.