The Jaguars Should Pursue Dwight Freeney

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The Jaguars have recently shown interest in a veteran pass rusher; Dwight Freeney, another veteran pass rusher, should be on their radar.

By Jordan de Lugo 

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Yesterday it came out that the Jaguars had been hosting and working out the infamous veteran pass rusher Greg Hardy. Hardy is known to have beaten his girlfriend. In addition to his issues with domestic violence he was a huge distraction on the side line and in the media for the Cowboys last year. He's not exactly the type of leader or teammate that teams would typically be excited to add to the mix. However, their interest in Hardy shows that the Jags are not totally satisfied with their group of pass rushers and also leads one to believe that the Jags may be interested in some other veteran pass rushers.

Enter Dwight Freeney, the bane of many Jaguars fans existence while he was an Indianapolis Colt. Freeney, who is now 36 years old, has racked up 119.5 sacks in his 14 year career and spent many a Sunday terrorizing Jaguars quarterbacks. A couple of years ago it looked as if Freeney's NFL career maybe coming to an end, but he had a major resurgence for the Cardinals in 2015. He was picked up off the street by the Cardinals 5 games into 2015 after a forgettable 2 year run with the Chargers. All he did was rack up 8 sacks in 11 games, 2.5 more than any Jaguar in 2015, and helped lead the Cardinals to a memorable season and playoff run. 

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One of the major questions when looking at a free agent is "why doesn't his former team want to retain him?". For the Cardinals the answer is easy, they added youth and talent to their pass rush with the addition of Chandler Jones this offseason and no longer need an aging veteran to help lead their defense.

Freeney has zero off the field issues and was a leader for the Cardinals in 2015. For a Jaguars team looking to add more pass rush, why not kick the tires on a productive pass rusher that would work well in the locker room? He wouldn't cost much at all, likely around $1,000,000, and could possibly still be the best pass rusher for the Jaguars in 2016.  There is very little risk in signing Freeney -- even if it doesn't work out it won't cost the Jaguars cap space and he won't be a problem in the locker room. Plus, he provides a skill that would help the Jaguars defense to get off the field on third down, something that they failed to do time and again in 2015.

Would Freeney be interested in joining such a young team? Who knows, but it's time to win in Jacksonville, and Freeney would be an addition that would help the Jags do just that. Plus, who wouldn't love to see Freeney chasing down Andrew Luck while wearing the black and teal of the Jaguars?!

​Keep in mind the Jaguars may not sign a pass rusher this week or even at the beginning of training camp, but if they do decide to pursue one at some point this year Freeney should be at the top of the list. 

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