Should the Jaguars sign TE Gary Barnidge?

5/25/2017

The Jaguars don't have a clear cut starter at tight end since the departure of Julius Thomas. Should they focus on grabbing a skilled veteran?

By Shareef Alnachoukati

Photo by Eric Drost

The Jaguars and many other teams have talked to Gary Barnidge. Though it's not clear if the Jags are truly searching for a tight end, they don't exactly have a clear cut starter at that position. They brought in a big target in Mychal Rivera who hadn't been impressive in Oakland over the last couple of years. The Jaguars have had Marcedes Lewis since the dawn of time (lol). In the past Ben Koyack and Neal Sterling were just fill-in players for Lewis and Julius Thomas, but they both showed off some skill in 2016 and could have more prominent roles moving forward. Especially Koyack who appears to be an adept receiver and willing blocker.

Gary Barnidge started his career in Carolina as a reserve and worked his way up to back up Greg Olson for a couple of years prior to heading to Cleveland. There he had a break out season where he completely blew up and gained over 1000 yards receiving along with 9 TDs. He put up those number with Josh McCown and Johnny Manziel at QB. Barnidge also made his first Pro Bowl. He went on to have an above average year in 2016, despite dealing with seemingly a million different starting quarterbacks. PFF also graded Barnidge as a top notch blocker for the Browns in 2016. But his time in Cleveland was cut short after the team drafted tight end David Njoku in the first round.

As I stated in the beginning of this piece, our tight end group isn't the most impressive in the league. It would be nice to add someone that brings leadership, blocking ability, and playmaking ability.

Comments

JAGUARS NEWS