3 Observations on Jaguars Extending C.J. Beathard
The Jacksonville Jaguars will maintain the status quo at backup quarterback in 2023, signing backup quarterback C.J. Beathard to a two-year extension on Friday.
Beathard's deal will allow him to continue to serve as Trevor Lawrence's backup quarterback throughout most of his rookie deal, but what else does his signing mean for the Jaguars? We break it down below.
Trevor Lawrence will have ultimate continuity in 2023
For Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars' offense, there truly won't be many things that are different in 2023. Lawrence and the rest of the returning players will have only more knowledge of the scheme and what head coach Doug Pederson demands from the unit, while there is a potential change at right tackle, backup tight end, and outside receiver. Other than that, Lawrence will throw to the same top-three targets from last year, still have the same coaches at head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach, will have most of the same offensive line, will have the same running back, and now the same backup quarterback.
If the Jaguars' goal was to enter 2023 with as much continuity as possible for their star passer, then they have succeeded so far. The only changes on the coaching staff have been at wide receivers coach (from Chris Jackson to Chad Hall) and passing game coordinator (from Jim Bob Cooter to Nick Holz). With Beathard now in tow as Lawrence's primary sounding board on the sidelines and in the locker room, the Jaguars will have the exact overwhelming continuity they have envisioned.
The lack of appealing options in free agency and draft likely played a big part in the decision to extend Beathard
The Jaguars did their part to evaluate the quarterback market before extending Beathard, and that is probably one of the biggest non-Lawrence reasons the Jaguars have retained the former third-rounder. While Doug Pederson and his staff didn't sign Beathard in 2021, it was clear when looking at this year's free-agency and draft group at quarterback that the Jaguars were better off going with the safe, experienced and cheap option in Beathard.
If the Jaguars were to pick up a back-up in free agency or the draft this year, it obviously would have been outside the several top tiers. The Jaguars wouldn't have been in even the Teddy Bridgewater ballpark in terms of the type of quarterback they would look to add, for example. Instead, the Jaguars were looking at options like Kyle Allen, Mike White, Nick Mullens, Drew Lock, and Nate Sudfeld. In terms of the draft, players like Clayton Tune and Tanner McKee likely would have been in play. When looking at this list of names then, yeah, it makes sense to just re-up with Beathard, who the Jaguars and Lawrence already have history with.
What other roster housekeeping is left before free-agency?
With the backup quarterback position now sorted out before the start of free agency, the Jaguars have several other moves they will need to execute before the start of the league year on March 15. Signing Beathard went a long way toward getting important pre-free agency needs met, but there are a few more moves the Jaguars need to make.
For instance, the Jaguars still have to determine which players they are moving on from and which are staying on restructured contracts. The expectations inside TIAA Bank Field are for several veterans to restructure their deals in coming weeks, while the Jaguars are still set to release former free-agent signing Shaquill Griffin. Finally, the Jaguars need to sort out the Evan Engram negotiations and finalize his deal before the franchise tag deadline on March 7.
