Jaguars Re-Sign Laquon Treadwell, Sign Kicker Ryan Santoso
The Jacksonville Jaguars continued their busy offseason on Monday afternoon, re-signing veteran wide receiver Laquon Treadwell and signing free agent kicker Ryan Santoso.
Treadwell was one of the few pleasant surprises for the Jaguars' last season, reviving his career in Jacksonville after a short tenure with the Atlanta Falcons. The former first-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings appeared in 12 games for the Jaguars after standing out during training camp, catching 33 passes for 434 yards (13.2 yards per catch) and one touchdown.
Treadwell got seven starts for the Jaguars down the stretch as they looked for answers at X receiver, finishing with 50 or more receiving yards in six of the final seven games of the season. There is a good argument to make that Treadwell, who turns 27 in June, was the Jaguars' top receiver down the stretch of 2021.
Treadwell, 6-2, 215, will enter his seventh season after being drafted by Minnesota in the first round (23rd overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft. He has played in 70 games, making 23 starts and has recorded 104 receptions for 1,184 yards and five touchdowns.
The return of Treadwell is the latest addition to the Jaguars' wide receiver room following the Jaguars signing Christian Kirk and Zay Jones and tight end Evan Engram during the first wave of free agency. The Jaguars were also interested in trading for former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper.
"Yeah, I think it goes back to, you know, guys that play in the slot or play outside and they really, yeah, of course, now with a guy like Christian and Zay, and even Marvin, let's throw Marvin and Laviska and these guys in the mix. I mean, you've got a room now that anybody can get the hot hand in any given week," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said last week.
"And it all goes back to game planning a little bit on how we want to use these guys and gameplan and, you know, target ... again, there's only one football, I wish I had five footballs, and they can all catch passes at once, but you can't. And I think as the season progresses, you'll see that you know, somebody will probably - okay, there's your 1, there's your guy, right? And then obviously, you know, a guy like Christian who we went out and got, he could come in and say, 'Hey, he's your 1 right away,' just because of the nature of the finances and all of that.
"But, it's really hard to just put a number on it when anybody could make those plays in any given week. And the other thing too, listen, you know, Marvin Jones, this guy played over 90% of the snaps last year, and still had some production. And we also wanted to help him to, right, and make sure that he doesn't have to play 90 snaps all the time by adding the value of the depth that we did."
In addition to Treadwell, the Jaguars also signed Santoso to provide depth at kicker ahead of the draft. Santoso, 26, joins Matthew Wright in the kicker room and has appeared in seven games throughout his career with the Titans, Panthers and Lions.
During that time, Santoso has made 4-of-5 field goals and 6-of-8 extra point attempts.
