Mitch Morse: I’ve always wanted to get back to Doug Pederson

The Jacksonville Jaguars finalized the first of their free agency additions Wednesday, signing former Buffalo Bills center Mitch Morse to a two-year contract that is expected to make him the team’s new starter at the position.

Morse, 31, is an experienced veteran who spent the first four seasons of his career with the Kansas City Chiefs and the last five with the Bills. The first of those nine years was spent with Doug Pederson, who was offensive coordinator of the Chiefs in 2015 before leaving to become the Philadelphia Eagles’ head coach in 2016.

On Wednesday, Morse told Jaguars reporters that he’s been hoping to be reunited with Pederson ever since the coach left Kansas City.

“My familiarity with Doug [Pederson] in the past, I’ve always had a sense of trying to get back to him ever since he became a head coach,” Morse said. “I thought it would kind of be a fun deal.”

With nearly a decade removed from Morse’s last year with Pederson, that’s quite the impression that was made on the young center.

“The one thing I do remember about Doug was actually less about his coaching and more about his personality,” Morse said. “Not only is he not afraid of candid conversations, but he’s easy to talk to. He’s the same person on and off the field. He’s just a good man and I think what that usually does is good dudes or good people usually lead to good football players.

“It’s what you want in a coach. You have good Xs and Os but what’s it going to be like on game day? I’ve been very fortunate these last few teams I’ve been on that have good coaches that are steady presences, don’t really ride the waves, the ebbs and flows of the NFL, which is hard to do in such an emotionally charged business.”

In Jacksonville, Morse is expected to take over starting center duties from Luke Fortner, a 2022 third-round pick who struggled in his second season.

“Luke and I have chatted, and I’m just looking forward to competing and growing with him,” Morse said. “I think that’s what football is all about. It’s about no matter where you are in your career, growing, being a better professional, and learning how to take your game to the next level. So, no matter what happens, how that works out for me I’m trying to be a resource for him, he’s going to be a resource for me, and we’ll see how it plays out.”

More is set to count $2.65 million against the Jaguars’ salary cap in 2024 and $5.45 million in 2025 before his contract automatically voids in 2026.