Jaguars GM Doug Caldwell On Tanking Narrative: 'Don't Count These Players Out'

If the Jacksonville Jaguars tank, at least three men responsible for the team’s success will be out of a job. Ergo, they will do everything they can to keep it from happening. Or at least, that was the logic given by Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew II.

“I mean realistically, I know if we’re tanking, Coach [Doug] Marrone, Dave Caldwell and [I] are probably going to be out of jobs,” Minshew pointed out to reporters on Thursday when asked about the narrative.

“So, I know us three and a lot of those other guys in the locker room are not going to let that crap happen. So, I feel very confidently in everybody’s desire to win and that’s absolutely not anything that we envision happening.”

It’s been predicted and proposed all offseason that the Jags will have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, with the opportunity to draft Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawerence. But everyone is 0-0 in the offseason and no one has lost a thing yet. The idea that a team is tanking—purposely losing or at least playing badly so as to worsen their record and therefore improve their draft pick—typically doesn’t arise until the season’s halfway point. Once the chance to make a playoff is good and gone, teams will sometimes start pulling starters, playing conservative and stop cringing as much at the losses.

The perception arose that the Jags were tanking before the season even began though when the club waived running back Leonard Fournette, finally agreed to a trade for Yannick Ngakoue and traded safety Ronnie Harrison, all within the same week.

According to Caldwell, the Fournette waiving, “was more about the guys that that we kept versus anything else,” as coaches and the General Manager had an opportunity to learn more about James Robinson, Devine Ozigbo and Chris Thompson in training camp.

When it comes to Ngakoue, Caldwell says the number one goal would have been the defensive end playing for the Jags again, but, “he's done everything we asked him to do. And he deserved the opportunity to be a free agent.”

At safety, Caldwell explains there was already a tight battle for the starting role. So when the Cleveland Browns called, it seemed like a decent decision to the GM.

“I got a call on Ronnie and I was able to get value for the guy that may have been possibly the odd man out.”

Those moves helped on Saturday when the Jaguars released 19 additional players to set the initial 53-man roster. Despite some of the faces that walked out the door, Minshew swears he’s confident in those left.

“You know, I think people see it from afar and say, ‘Oh they’re losing their biggest names.’ But that’s not how we feel.”

“Our only message was, that let's keep the 53 guys that deserve to be on this team,” added Caldwell.

“We feel like we did that with the players that we have…let us let us play the season, and don't count these players out and I love this team, I love the energy this team brings, I love some of the veteran leadership we brought in with [middle linebacker] Joe Shobert, [tight end] Tyler Eifert.

"You know, we’re not that young on offense, you got a guy like [receiver] Chris Conley. The offensive line has all played a lot of games together. You know, [receivers] Keelan Cole, Dede Westbrook, we have guys there, DJ Chark. So, so, you know, don't count this team out yet. And I think they'll tell you the same thing.”

The offseason moves adding Schobert and Eifert were notable, considering they are two of the bigger names at their respective positions. The Jags also signed all 12 of those in their rookie draft class along with four undrafted free agents. That means 30% of the roster is made up of rookies.

While purposely fielding an incredibly young team could be seen as a future commitment to winning, it’s also seen as an acceptance that it won’t happen this year…it’s tanking under the guise of building.

But as Caldwell points out, this young group of talent could also be what turns fortunes around even sooner. All he’s asking is that judgement is withheld until the product is seen on the field.

“We can't afford a rebuilding year, and that's not our mindset. Our mindset is to put the best team out there, to play, to compete and to win, and we feel like these guys, the guys in this locker room. You know, nobody has seen them play together, nobody has seen them play a game.

“Before we decide where we are—where we stand—let us play some games, you know, and let's see where we are and let's see how these young guys are and, and I know, I know that 53 players in this locker room are excited to be here, and are excited for their ability to go out there and put a good, good brand of football out there.”