Newly minted Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen heaped praise on Josh Allen, saying that he is excited to work with him next season.
“Really excited to work with him, heard nothing but great things. I talked to Josh, and he’s been fantastic. That’ll get worked out, get him back and get him going, hopefully get him to improve,” said Nielsen last week.
“That’s the ultimate goal, if we can just get that much better next year, what does that look like? That’s pretty exciting. That’s what we want to work towards,” he added.
Josh Allen has said multiple times that he prefers to stay in Jacksonville. However, since the Jacksonville Jaguars don’t have much cap room, at roughly $18 million, according to Spotrac, retaining Allen for the long term might not be as easy as it seems.
Why the Jacksonville Jaguars should pay Josh Allen
Josh Allen continues to improve year after year, and 2023 is no different. Last season, the Kentucky graduate managed to rack up 66 tackles, 17 of which were for losses, a franchise record of 17.5 sacks, one interception, one pass defended, and two forced fumbles.
His camp can push for a $30 million annual salary, but there’s a big chance that he’ll end up getting paid like Joey Bosa and TJ Watt, who make $27 and $28 million from the Los Angeles Chargers and the Pittsburgh Steelers per year, respectively, which is certainly a huge salary bump for him.
Josh Allen said earlier this month that he understands that the NFL is a business, so he is determined to get paid his worth, whether it’s in Jacksonville or elsewhere.
“What I’ve grown to understand is that the NFL is a business at the end of the day,” said Allen at the Pro Bowl Games. “If you handle it or think about it any type of way, you will get tossed out of it. For me, it’s ‘Let’s talk business.'”
Jacksonville Jaguars GM vows to keep Josh Allen
During the end-of-season press conference a few weeks ago, Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke made it clear that he’d do everything he could to keep Josh Allen in their ranks.
However, the most realistic scenario for it to happen is if the Jacksonville Jaguars assign the franchise tag to the two-time Pro Bowler, although doing so would complicate Calvin Ridley’s return to the squad.