Jaguars re-sign special teamer Caleb Johnson after all

The Jacksonville Jaguars kept depth linebacker and special teamer Caleb Johnson with a new contract, the team announced Wednesday.

A new deal for Johnson comes just a few days after a report that the Jaguars “couldn’t come to terms” with the restricted free agent and he would hit the open market. While details of the new contract haven’t yet been revealed, Jacksonville presumably avoided using a right-of-first-refusal tender to keep Johnson.

As a restricted free agent, the Jaguars could’ve applied the tender, giving them the opportunity to match any deal Johnson was offered. That would’ve cost the team nearly $3 million, though. Jacksonville’s deal with the special teams ace is likely less than that.

Johnson, who turns 26 this summer, played his rookie season with the Chicago Bears and was scooped up off waivers by the Jaguars just before the start of the 2022 season. He’s appeared in all 34 of Jacksonville’s games over the last two seasons and has recorded 21 total tackles with the team.