Jaguars Land Their Big Fish, Ink Free Agent Linebacker Joe Schobert to a Five-Year Deal

The Jaguars made a major addition to their defense on Tuesday, signing former Cleveland Browns linebacker Joe Schobert to a large contract that will pay him more than $10 million annually.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have finally made their big move in free agency. 

A day after the Jaguars sat out of the first day of the legal tampering period, making no additions to the roster, the Jaguars have agreed to terms on a contract with veteran free agent linebacker Joe Schobert, JaguarReport has confirmed. 

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network was the first to report Schobert's agreement with the Jaguars.

According to Rapoport, Schobert's deal is a five-year contract with $22.5 million guaranteed at signing. The deal is worth a total of $53.75 million, giving Schobert $10.75 million annually. 

Schobert, 26, spent the last four seasons with the Cleveland Browns after being selected in the fourth-round (No. 99 overall) in the 2016 NFL Draft.

Entering this offseason, Schobert made a lot of sense as a name to connect to the Jaguars due to his experience (49 starts) over four seasons with the Cleveland Browns. In Schobert's time in Cleveland, he recorded 408 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, six interceptions, and a staggering seven forced fumbles, along with 20 pass deflections. He is a steady playmaker and a capable prescence inside, all traits that would fit the Jaguars' needs at the second level of the defense.

In 2019, Schobert started 16 games and totaled 133 tackles, seven tackles for loss, two sacks, four interceptions, two forced fumbles, and nine pass deflections.

With Schobert in the fold, the Jaguars now have two linebackers who are making more than $10 million annually. Fifth-year linebacker Myles Jack, another member of the 2016 NFL Draft class, signed a four-year, $57 million contract with the Jaguars before the 2019 season began, making him one of the league's highest-paid linebackers. 

The Bengals were trying aggressively to get ILB Joe Schobert but wouldn't match Jacksonville's final asking price, which is a massive five-year, $53.75-million deal.

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 17, 2020

Jack struggled at middle linebacker in 2019, making it sensible for the Jaguars to slide Schobert into the middle of the defense and move Jack to weakside linebacker. The Jaguars had serious issues at each linebacker spot in 2019, so the Schobert signing could be a way to improve two different positions. 

“I think we will adjust not only that position, but I think we will address every position and if it is not through free agency, it is the draft. If we can get better, we will try and get better," general manager Dave Caldwell said Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine.

"We have two guys there that we like in Myles [Jack] and Quincy [Williams]. Dakota Allen is another guy we feel can come in, we got him from the Rams late in the year. He is a physical guy, he did a nice job on special teams. We actually have four guys there plus Leon Jacobs as our SAM. We have some depth there that we have not had in the past. If we can get a guy to come in and if we need to move Myles … Myles offers so much flexibility, whether it’s MIKE, WILL, he played SAM in 2017. We feel good about that. "

According to Spotrac, Schobert's deal gives him the ninth-highest annual salary among inside linebackers, and the ninth-most guaranteed money at the position.