Trouble in Paradise? Jacksonville’s Recent Struggles.

Week 1 of the National Football League was full of excitement, well, for most teams. Since the 2019-20 NFL season kicked off, the Jacksonville Jaguars have received nothing but loathsome luck. As expected, a ton of Jaguar fans came out to support their team and see their new franchise quarterback Nick Foles play his first game as a Jaguar. Coming off an impressive Super Bowl in 2017 and winning Super Bowl MVP, also starting 5 games for the Philadelphia Eagles after Carson Wentz’s injury, leading them to the playoffs, Foles was looking promising. I think we would all be lying if we said we are not excited to see how Nick Foles era would pan out in Jacksonville. Nick Foles started the game off hot by throwing for 75 yards and 1 touchdown, with no interceptions, that was until late in the first half. Nick Floes was hit hard and dropped to the ground. With much concern, the Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone sent Nick Foles into the locker room and ruled him out for the rest of the game. It was later announced that Nick Foles had suffered a broken clavicle and would miss at least two months. On top of the news of Nick Foles being ruled out for 2 months, the Jaguars suffered a terrible loss to the Kansas City Chiefs with a final score of 40-26. So not only did they lose their starting quarterback, but they also lost their season opener game.

 Following that event, on the date of September 16, 2019, All-Pro defensive back Jalen Ramsey had requested a trade from the Jacksonville Jaguars. Allegedly, what led to Ramsey’s trade request stems from Ramsey’s frustration with how much zone coverage he had been playing and his confrontation with head coach Doug Marrone, which was not the case. On the date of September 19th, 2019, Jalen Ramsey went on a Podcast called “Uninterrupted” with Nate Burleson and said the following, “Some disrespectful things were said on their end that made me definitely walk out and call my agent as soon as I walked out,” Ramsey told Burleson. “I said, ‘It’s time. My time is up here in Jacksonville.’ I said, ‘I want to ask for a trade.’ I was truly at peace, like I wasn’t in a mindset of making a decision while I was angry. I was completely calm. I still stand by that decision to ask for a trade” 

After a win on Thursday night football against the Tennessee Titans, reports came out that Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan “loves” Jalen Ramsey and is willing to give him a big contract extension amid his trade request. Jalen Ramsey is in the final year of his 4-year/ $23.351M rookie contract and stands to make a base salary of $3.634M for the 2019 season. However, despite Shad Khan’s recent statement, Jalen Ramsey’s trade request still stands. It was said that Jalen Ramsey “wants to win”, which is not happening in Jacksonville. In recent reports, it is said that the Jacksonville Jaguars currently have no deal in the works to send Ramsey to a different team. This is because their asking price is “too high”. I think it is safe to say that it is a tough time to be a Jacksonville Jaguars fan. Hopefully, in the foreseeable future, things will start to brighten up, for now, things are not looking so good.