Jaguars Reportedly Trade For Saints DL Malcom Brown

The Jaguars made their fourth addition to the defensive line this week, trading for Saints defensive lineman Malcom Brown and giving him a new two-year contract.

For the fourth time in two days, the Jacksonville Jaguars have reached an agreement to add a new defensive lineman.

The Jaguars had already struck deals with defensive linemen Jihad Ward, Tyson Alualu, and Roy Robertson-Harris throughout the first two days of the legal tampering period, but they made an even more aggressive move on Tuesday by trading for New Orleans Saints defensive lineman Malcom Brown.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported the move first and said that Brown, who was entering a contract season, has been given a two-year contract with the Jaguars worth $11 million in total and with $8 million in guarantees. 

The addition of Brown, who has long been rumored to be an eventual cap casualty for the Saints, gives the Jaguars significantly more size in the middle of their defense as they transition to defensive coordinator Joe Cullen's new multiple attack.

Brown, drafted by the New England Patriots with the No. 32 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft out of Texas, missed only four games with the Patriots in four seasons before signing with the Saints in 2019.

Brown appeared and started in 29-of-32 regular season games during his Saints tenure, playing 46% of the defensive snaps in 2019 and 33% in 2020.

Brown won't make much of an impact on the Jaguars' sub-packages considering he has just 11.5 career sacks and 23 quarterback hits, with only three sacks and eight quarterback hits over the last three seasons. With this in mind, he has a reputation as one of the NFL's more consistent defensive linemen when it comes to run defense.

Brown, 27, has recorded 23 tackles for loss in his career, including nine over the last two seasons. He was a big reason the Saints' run defense improved dramatically in recent seasons, and he should automatically slot into the Jaguars' nose tackle rotation.

The addition of Brown likely spells trouble for the chances of Abry Jones returning. So many different defensive linemen added in two days also makes it more and more unlikely the Jaguars' new regime gives former first-round pick Taven Bryan much of a chance to prove himself.