The Jaguars signed former Broncos guard Zane Beadles to a five-year, $30 million contract last offseason just months after he surrendered 32 quarterback hurries and nine quarterback hits, totals that Pro Football Focus says were both among the 10 worst in football.
Now, Beadles is addressing the potential loss of his job in Jacksonville.
"That's the business, man," Beadles told Jacksonville.com. "That's the front office's job. They're always looking to replace everybody. Always looking for better, younger talent. That's the way it is. The way I look at it is I need to come out and do my job. That's all I have to focus on."
The problem, though, is not on Beadles' shoulders. Yes, he was part of a unit that gave up a league-worst 71 sacks a season ago. But he is merely a cog in a problematic system far larger than himself.
The issue is that Jacksonville still has to overpay for free agents. That will change once the team starts winning again, but at the moment they are sitting on a roster built on years and years of bad draft picks. That leads to poor records, and poor records lead to a general disinterest from players who can choose their destination.
That leads to a five-year, $30 million deal for a guy like Beadles, a hopeful short-term solution for a long-term problem.
Make no mistake, Caldwell is doing the right thing. He's trying to rebuild his line piece by piece and tailor a team around a quarterback he believes to be a franchise player.
When the Jaguars finally find success, though, will guys like Beadles or Julius Thomas even be on the roster?
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