REPORT: Jaguars Ripped for 'Puzzling" Free Agent Signing

The Jacksonville Jaguars have been ripped for a key free-agent signing they made last offseason.
Oct 27, 2024; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Gabe Davis (0) before the game against the Green Bay Packers at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images
Oct 27, 2024; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Gabe Davis (0) before the game against the Green Bay Packers at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images / Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images
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Last offseason, the Jacksonville Jaguars lost wide receiver Calvin Ridley, but they replaced him with Gabe Davis in free agency.

Of course, Brian Thomas Jr.—who the Jaguars drafted the following month—actually proved to be the more actual "replacement" for Ridley, but at the time, Jacksonville knew it was losing Ridley, so it acted by inking Davis to a three-year, $39 million deal.

The Jaguars' decision was largely questioned, and nearly a year later, it doesn't look like it was a very prudent move by the squad that went just 4-13 in 2024.

Dalton Wasserman of Pro Football Focus recently listed each NFL team's best and worst free-agent additions of 2024, and he felt that Davis fit into the latter group for Jacksonville.

"The signing of Davis to a $13 million per year contract was puzzling then, and the worst-case scenario played out for him and the team this season," Wasserman wrote. "Davis caught just 20 passes totaling 239 yards before suffering a season-ending knee injury in Week 11."

Davis spent the first four years of his career with the Buffalo Bills and was maddeningly inconsistent throughout his tenure with Josh Allen and Co.

While the former fourth-round pick definitely had his moments and flashed tantalizing big-play ability, he struggled to establish himself as a legitimate No. 2 option.

He managed to crest 600 yards just twice throughout his entire time with the Bills, topping out at 836 yards to go along with seven touchdowns in 2022.

During is final season in Buffalo, Davis caught 45 passes for 746 yards and seven scores.

The 25-year-old boasts a lifetime average of 16.2 yards per catch, so, again, the gamebreaking potential is certainly there. But it's looking more and more like Davis—who lays claim to a brutal 53.7 percent career catch rate—may be a one-trick pony.

Davis will be back for 2025, but it's abundantly clear that the Jaguars can't depend on him as a serious secondary option behind Thomas.

Jacksonville could potentially part ways with Christian Kirk in the coming months, which means that the Jaguars will have to find another weapon for Trevor Lawrence to guard against another disappointing campaign from Davis.

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Matthew Schmidt
MATTHEW SCHMIDT

Matthew Schmidt is a sportswriter who covers NFL, MLB, NBA and college football and basketball. He has been writing professionally since 2011 and has also worked for Bleacher Report, FanRag Sports, ClutchPoints, NFLAnalysis.net and NBAAnalysis.net. He was born and raised in New Jersey and has a rather eclectic group of favorite teams: the Boston Celtics, New York Giants and Miami Marlins.