Jaguars Spending Money to Upgrade Trevor Lawrence's Pass-Catching Weapons

Former Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence is getting some new help in Jacksonville.

The Jaguars, who have nearly $40 million to spend this offseason, have reportedly agreed to terms with two receivers on Monday. Christian Kirk, who previously played for the Arizona Cardinals, and Zay Jones, who was with the Las Vegas Raiders, are headed to Florida to aid an ailing offense.

Saddled with an underperforming offensive line and a receiving corps that constantly lacked production and had too many drops, Lawrence struggled to move the ball in his rookie season. With new direction under head coach Doug Pederson, Jacksonville is getting a makeover, and the Jags also have the first pick in next month's NFL draft.

Kirk spent his first four years in the NFL in Arizona, where he 2,902 yards and 17 touchdowns on 236 receptions. He's coming off his best season as a pro with 77 catches, 982 yards and five touchdowns.

Kirk is reportedly signing a four-year deal worth up to $84 million. It's a lot of money for a player who has yet to record a 1,000-yard season.

Jaguars to sign WR Christian Kirk to four-year, $72M deal with max value of $84M. (via @RapSheet, @TomPelissero) pic.twitter.com/IuO9sfYDb8
— NFL (@NFL) March 14, 2022

But the Jags weren't done. Late Monday evening, they worked a deal with Jones that's worth $30 million for three years.

Source: #Raiders WR Zay Jones is headed to the #Jaguars. MORE. He gets 3 years and up to $30M. $24M base.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 15, 2022

Jones started nine games for the Raiders in 2021, catching 47 passes for 546 yards, the second-best of his career. He's had just one touchdown reception in each of the last two years. Jones joined the Raiders in 2019 when he was traded mid-season by the Buffalo Bills.

The Jaguars, who are +7000 on FanDuel Sportsbook to win the Super Bowl, are also adding former New York Giants tight end Evan Ingram to a one-year deal.

None of these deals can become official until the free agency officially begins Wednesday.

Jacksonville's willingness to spend this kind of money on pass-catchers who haven't been stars in the NFL yet shows how poorly constructed last year's offense was under former head coach Urban Meyer.

Lawrence completed 59.6 percent of his passes for 3,641 yards in 2021. He threw 17 interceptions to just 12 touchdowns as the team played the last month of the season without a head coach and limped to a 3-14 finish in his rookie campaign.

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