Jaguars Sign TE Julius Thomas; Grade and Analysis

The Jacksonville Jaguars agreed in principle to a deal with Pro Bowl tight end Julius Thomas on Monday night. The deal will reportedly be worth 9 million dollars a year.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network broke the news Monday night.

Here’s some background information on the former Denver Bronco tight end, via Sayre Bedinger:

"Where do I even begin with Julius Thomas? This is a player with so much talent, such a phenomenal skill set as a pass catcher and mismatch as a receiver, but also a guy that leaves me scratching my head more often than I’d like for the price he has commanded. Thomas left a heck of a lot of money on the table to leave Denver, and hopefully his new situation here is worth the difference of a million dollars per year, guarantees he received, or whatever it might be. Thomas has struggled so badly with ankle injuries throughout his career, that all I can say here is BUYER BEWARE. When healthy, Thomas is a touchdown machine. He had 24 over the last two seasons. When dinged up, he’s completely useless. Thomas has never played a full 16 game season in four years in the NFL. The talent and upside are obvious, but the floor is also really low."

There’s no doubt that Julius Thomas is a talented tight end, but whenever a player chases the money and leaves a contender for a bottom feeder there’s always cause for concern. Not to mention Julius Thomas has had ankle injuries that derailed him last season after he was on a record-setting pace for touchdown receptions. The former Portland State product will find life a lot more difficult as he moves from playing with Peyton Manning to Blake Bortles.

Grade: C+

It’s hard for me to like this deal because it’s painfully obvious that Julius Thomas is running for the money. He’s going from a Super Bowl contender to a team that has gone 6-26 over the past two seasons. If Thomas gets motivated and gives maximum effort this deal will work out well for both sides — but that’s seldom the case when big name guys run for the money.

However, Thomas is talented enough to make this work and is the best redzone target the Jaguars have had in years — or ever had.

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