Over the last few months, the arrow has solely been pointing up for the Jacksonville Jaguars. The franchise was able to lock down quarterback Trevor Lawrence and pass rusher Josh Allen to long-term extensions and got the green light from the city to build a "stadium of the future" that is projected to open in 2028. While the sun may be shining in Duval County at the moment, the sting of last season's late collapse is still felt.
The Jaguars held first place in the AFC South for most of the year after an 8-3 start, but a 1-5 finish down the stretch found them ousted from atop the division and were on the outside looking in on the playoffs entirely.
Part of the reason for that collapse was due to injury. Lawrence dealt with multiple injuries and receivers Christian Kirk (groin) along with Zay Jones (knee) were hobbled as well. Despite those ailments, Jags owner Shad Khan called the second half of the year an "organizational failure."
"Injuries are a part of the game," Khan said, via the Associated Press. "We had some of those injuries, but I think it's organizational failure that it happened. All of these players I talked to, it's like how could this happen? What happened? For me, it's really a cause for self-reflection and then something good to come out of it because we just can't have that this year."
This offseason, the Jaguars have spent big trying to help put the franchise on better footing to avoid another late-season stumble. On top of handing out those massive extensions, the team also signed receiver Gabe Davis, defensive tackle Arik Armstead, and center Mitch Morse, who should each start.
"For us, winning now is the expectation," said Khan.
While ownership has thrown money to try and help the team succeed in 2024, Khan wouldn't divulge who he prefers as the club's offensive play-caller between head coach Doug Pederson and offensive coordinator Press Taylor, despite seemingly having a preference. Taylor donned the headset in 2023 after both he and Pederson shared duties in 2022.
"Yeah, I have an opinion," Khan said. "But I don't want to tell people 'We need to do it' because then things don't work out, they look at me and say, 'We did it because you wanted it.'"
At the moment, the Jaguars are looking at a bit of an uphill climb in the AFC South with the emergence of C.J. Stroud and the Texans. At DraftKings Sportsbook, Jacksonville has the second-best odds to win the division at +275, looking up at Houston, who are +105 favorites.
