| Scobee and Jaxson have another reason to celebrate. (Getty Images) |
Jaguars kicker Josh Scobee was our third-most-likely player to get a deal before the franchise-tag deadline at 4 p.m. ET. So we were close: Scobee became the second player to get a long-term deal on Monday, as CBSSports.com's Jason La Canfora reports that the kicker signed a four-year deal with Jacksonville.
La Canfora also reports that Scobee's deal is worth $3.45 million per year with $4.75 million guaranteed and notes that Scobee "should be a Jag for life." Tania Ganguli of the Florida Times-Union initially reported the news.
That guaranteed money comes in the form of a $3.75 million signing bonus and $1 million in guaranteed money the first year.
The other comparable kicker contract comes in the form of the deal handed out by the Broncos to Matt Prater earlier this offseason. Prater signed a four-year, $13 million deal with $4.25 million guaranteed.
Here's the thing, though: paying kickers is never a brilliant idea. Scobee's year-by-year kicking percentages are as follows: 77.4, 76.7, 81.3, 92.3, 76, 64.3, 78.6, 92. If you can find anything resembling "consistent" in that set of numbers, I've got some taxes I'd like you to finagle.
Scobee's a better kicker than Prater -- especially considering he doesn't rely on Denver's thin air -- and actually posted a good season last year, hitting 23 of 25 field goals, including 5/6 of 50-plus yards.
Scobee has a big leg and is pretty "clutch" in so much as it exists. He scored a ton of points for the Jaguars last year. But giving Scobee a long-term deal is still paying a kicker. And while that inspires me to have my as-yet-not-conceived son pick up a tee early on, it doesn't mean it's a smart move.
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