Touchdown Jaguars!
Touchdown Jaguars!
Episode 86: Talking Jaguars with NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe
Can Trevor Lawrence become the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL? Tune in to our latest episode of Touchdown Jaguars as NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe joins us to break down the numbers and timelines for Lawrence's anticipated contract extension. We also dive into the broader quarterback market, analyzing how Tua Tungabailoa and Joe Burrow's contracts could influence Lawrence's deal. And that's not all; we touch on the rising salaries of wide receivers, spotlighting Christian Kirk's high-profile signing.
Next, we tackle the offensive struggles of the Jaguars' 2023 season. Cameron Wolfe offers his insights into the dynamics between Press Taylor and Doug Pederson, and the challenges faced in integrating Calvin Ridley into the offense. We explore how minor errors have cost the team crucial games and discuss the growing calls from fans to give Trevor Lawrence more control over the offensive system. The conversation shifts to evaluating Lawrence's growth and what increased responsibility might look like for him as we approach the 2024 season.
We cap off our episode with an in-depth analysis of the Jaguars' coaching dynamics and offseason moves. Learn about the importance of cohesion between the coaching staff and front office, as well as the potential impact of last season's performance on future decisions. We also review key acquisitions like Gabe Davis and Arik Armstead, assessing their potential to restore the Jaguars' competitive edge. Finally, we discuss the $1.4 billion stadium renovation deal and its implications, including the possible temporary relocation of games. Don't miss this comprehensive look at the Jacksonville Jaguars' present and future!
Find Cameron on Twitter/X @CameronWolfe and Instagram!
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James Johnson and Phil Smith bring you the best and most up to date Jacksonville Jaguars news. "Touchdown Jaguars!" is a tribute to the prospective ownership group "Touchdown Jacksonville!" In 1991, the NFL announced plans to add two expansion teams and "Touchdown Jacksonville!" announced its bid for a team, and Jacksonville was ultimately chosen as one of five finalists. In November 1993, the NFL owners voted 26–2 in favor of awarding the 30th franchise to Jacksonville. James and Phil have been fans of the franchise ever since and have had the honor (and sometimes dishonor) of covering the team professionally since 2017. The rest as they say, is history.
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Speaker 1:Welcome to the Touchdown Jaguars podcast. Here are your hosts, james Johnson and Phil Smith. Hey everyone, welcome back to the Touchdown Jaguars podcast. I am your co-host, phil Smith. Today you guys are in for a real treat, as we welcomed in NFL Network reporter Cameron Wolfe. On this week's episode, we covered everything from Trevor Lawrence to the front office and even the new stadium design Before we jump in, just as a reminder to find the Linktree link, in the show notes of this episode you'll find the link to the website, all of our social medias, as well as the opportunity to download the SeatGeek app and use our promo code Touchdown Jaguars. Shout out to SeatGeek for helping us keep the lights on here at Touchdown Jaguars and for all of you that have used that promo code thus far.
Speaker 1:But without further ado, let's get into our conversation with Cameron Wolfe from the NFL Network. Hey, folks, welcome to a very special episode of the Touchdown Jaguars podcast. I am, of course, your co-host, phil Smith, joined by your other co-host, james Johnson, and today we have a very special episode. Nfl Network reporter, cameron Wolfe, here today to talk about the Jacksonville Jaguars. And, of course, you can catch him on the Insider Show on NFL Network, which airs Monday through Friday on 7 pm. And, of course, make sure to follow him on Twitter X social media at Cameron Wolfe Cam. I think the best place to start here would be, of course, with the Trevor Lawrence contract. He recently spoke and said it would be, of course, ideal to get that done before training camp. That said, when do you think he will put pen to paper and what kind of figures do you think we can be looking at, given the market that we have seen with recent quarterbacks in terms of the money?
Speaker 2:Yeah, let's start with the timeline. My expectation, talking to people around the league and people close to the Jags and Travers people, is that the deal in my if I was a betting man, would be done before the start of the regular season. Now, maybe that's before training camp, maybe that's sometime before the regular season, but after training camp. But the reality is they've talked about this deal for a while. Both sides want to get it done. I talked to trent balky, the jags gm, and at the combine and he said we started negotiation weeks ago in late january, early february, and they knew this would take a while. And we're in june and it is taking a while. But quarterback deals, especially with the amount of money that trevor is going to get paid, often take a little bit. And when you look at the money that you'd expect Trevor to make Tua Tungabailoa is a guy I'd watch down in Miami. I think they're a little further along in their extension down in Miami and that could be done within weeks and if that's done, that creates a new number for Trevor Lawrence and his people to be able to target. And so right now, the current market Jared Goff is the market setter. He signed a deal for $53 million a year and new money, and that's the deal that everybody's pointing to. And then at the top of the market is Joe Burrow at $55 million a year, with even more guarantees. I would imagine those are the two benchmarks that Trevor Lawrence's team is looking for, and when he gets the deal done, I wouldn't be surprised if he becomes the highest paid quarterback in football, even over Joe Burrow. And so people hear that and they're like wait, what Trevor hasn't done? As much as Joe Burrow, and that's true. But Tua had a line this week when he talked to reporters that I think describes his market. He said the market is the market and what quarterbacks are paid is what quarterbacks paid. And the reality is, as the cap, the salary cap, jumps each year, the deals become out of date and the inflation number is something you have to keep in mind as a fan, because what was $50 million this year may be a bargain next year. Right, because CJ Stroud is going to come up and the cap is probably going to jump another 5% to 10% and maybe $60 million is the number for salaries then. And then maybe your quarterback who was the highest paid in the summer, or one of the top three as highest paid in the summer is then the fifth highest paid or the 10th highest paid, and so a lot of times if you're paying early, you're sort of betting on potential, but you're also getting ahead of the curve of those numbers.
Speaker 2:A lot of teams are really good at that. I think one example is the Philadelphia Eagles. This offseason signed Devontae Smith to a three-year $75 million deal and people were like, ah, that's a little steep for maybe a number two quote-unquote receiver. Well, you see deals coming on. After Amon Ross, st Brown at $30 million, jalen Waddell just signed for $28 million and then Justin Jefferson signed for $35 million. So now the market is way past that right. And then Jamar Chase and CeeDee Lamb all these guys and I wouldn't be surprised if we see a $40 million receiver by next summer. And so I think all of these things are relative. But long story short, I expect Trevor to get a deal done by the start of the regular season and I expect that number to be starting with the five with a lot of guaranteed money.
Speaker 1:I'm so glad you brought up the receivers, because I've heard you talk about this player in the past, actually very recently. Remember how people reacted when Christian Kirk was signed and people were like, look at this money that Christian Kirk is getting. And here we are now, jay. We've talked about that extensively and you've talked about very recently the importance of Christian Kirk on this team and returning as well. So, yeah, jay, I know a lot of people are waiting for that, along with the throwbacks. That's what we hear. Where's the Trevor deal, where's the throwbacks? But we definitely expect that deal to get done sooner than later. And, yeah, jay, he's definitely going to be paid, and deservedly so, I think is how we feel over here on our side, right, jay?
Speaker 3:Absolutely. I believe that he should be paid and, like cam said, uh, or cameron said, you know some of these teams, they like to get ahead of it, you know, before the quarter, especially the quarterback market, gets out of hand, uh. So I mean, it makes sense from that perspective too and and you know, like he's also said is the fact of the matter is it's about next man up when it comes to the quarterback position. You know all of the, you know what have you done in terms of, you know what your stats look like, how you look in comparison to this guy. A lot of times, with the quarterback market, debt doesn't necessarily um factor into how much they're going to make. Time will tell what Trevor's true figures are, but I wouldn't be shocked if he ends up making more than Joe Burrow at the end of the day.
Speaker 3:So my question is actually in regards to the play calling duty on Cameron, because there's going to be a lot of questions in regards to this until Doug Peterson comes out and says like hey, I'm calling the plays, or Press Taylor is calling the plays, who is the offensive coordinator? So, that being said, I think what they're going to do is wait until training camp, or maybe until the beginning of the season to officially say who will and who won't. For me it like all of this doesn't really matter because, at the end of the day, doug Peterson whether Press is calling the plays or not, he has a big say in the game plan, you would think so he's helping Press from that degree and he also can, you know, get the plays in as they're being radioed onto the field and say, hey, you know, we're not going to roll with this play, so he can ultimately stop any plays that Press Taylor is calling. But I just want to ask you, cameron, in regards to the Press Taylor situation, how do you think they'll end up going about that in terms of do you think it'll be Doug calling the plays or do you think it'll be Press Taylor calling the plays?
Speaker 2:Yeah, first of all, I'll say this it's always, it has been and will be Doug Peterson's offense and, regardless of who the play caller is and I've heard a lot of it I get it. Press Taylor got a lot of noise from this past year, and I get it. The reality is somebody's got to take the brunt of last year, taking a step backwards, and you have what happened in 2022. When Doug Peterson was to play caller, everybody was hot. The second half of the year, trevor was playing free and 2023, press takes over uh, for the whole rep, the whole season, and it's like what happened, and so everybody blames press. I don't think it's as simple as that, I think there's a lot of layers within the offense.
Speaker 2:I think there's a lot of difficulties they had early in the season getting Calvin Ridley involved within the offense and really just trying to figure out what his right role is, his chemistry with Trevor and I think that got them out of sync and honestly, if you go back and watch the games, there was a lot of plays that they just missed. We get obsessed with just scouting on the box scores or wins and losses, when the reality is one or two plays that may be off by a yard or two could be the difference. I remember watching that Kansas City game. I was there that day and there was a couple passes where they were just a yard too deep in the end zone from a touchdown. Or Calvin Ridley doesn't have a fumble on this play, maybe they win that game. So I think that Press Taylor knows there's a lot of eyes on him and a lot of eyes on Doug Peterson. I think that Press is still going to be very involved in the offense, very involved in the game planning and the script and maybe play calling as well. I don't know the final answer for that right now, but I will say this I think one thing they have made clear they. I think one thing they have made clear they want Trevor to be more vocal and have more ownership of this offense.
Speaker 2:I think for the first year maybe the first two years of them it was hey, this is our system. Let's see what Trevor lights within our system. I think this year more than ever it's like hey, trevor, what do you like? We're going to make that our system. If you like this play from Clemson that we haven't run since you've been in college, let's put it in, let's make it.
Speaker 2:And so I think as you go into this year four for Trevor year three under Doug I think you go from him being the young guy who's sort of fitting within the offense to becoming the guy becoming the offense and everything that he likes, that everything that he wants, becomes framed in that If he doesn't like a receiver running across the middle for this route, don't play it. And I think you're going to see a lot more of that going forward. So I think that fans get a little much caught up in the who's calling the plays. Get rid of press Taylor talk. I think that's way overblown and I think that you're going to see your quarterback take more ownership of things and I think that you're going to see your quarterback take more ownership of things, and I think that'll be better for everyone going forward.
Speaker 3:You know, cameron, you mentioned something that I have said in this podcast for a while now, which is they were a few mistakes from Press Taylor in the eyes of the fans being, you know, dare I say, a little bit more tolerable or a little bit more accepted.
Speaker 3:You know, they were a toe drag away from a touchdown in that Kansas City game which you mentioned. Right, they were a knee drag away from a touchdown in the Texans game, you know, and it was a lot of drops on. You know, let's call it what it is it was a lot of drops that were catchable balls by Calvin Ridley at one point in time. You know it is what it is and you know you get those touchdowns back and people aren't as mad as at Press Taylor, as they are now. So, you know, you hit the nail on the head with that and, yeah, as you said, it'll be interesting to see, like, how they adjust this offense. And you know, do they give Trevor more say? You would think, well, were they going to pay him, he's probably going to have a lot of say like, hey, I like this, I like that, but yeah, it sets up for an exciting offseason for this offense, regardless of how the play calling duties go.
Speaker 2:A lot of say and a lot of pressure, like, let's just call it what it is. Trevor's been the appointed one for a long time and I think that the 2022 season was very much, uh, worth shocking the world. 2023, they had expectations, took a step back, and so I think the coaches got a lot of the brunt of this. But the reality is, in 2024, especially if Trevor gets paid, he's gonna have to hold a lot of this and, knowing Trevor like I do, I think that he's gonna accept it. He's gonna take that on. Um, I think a lot of this and, knowing Trevor like I do, I think that he's going to accept it, he's going to take that on. I think a lot of people see the long hair and kind of the flow, the chill flow, and they think that he's just, you know, he's got a lot of dog in him and I think that he's going to respond well to this. But I think and this is just my opinion I think that you're going to get some vindication from Press Taylor.
Speaker 1:You're going to get some vindication yeah, and one thing I've certainly learned just through doing this and learning from people like you and of course also with uj it's never as simple as one answer, like in terms of what is going wrong. It's always a combination of things and you're right, people love to lock onto one thing like, oh, it's the play calling. Oh, it's press taylor, what you know what's happening here. So, yeah, that's a. That's a very, very good point. Glad you brought that up for sure. Once again, just as a reminder, we have nfl network reporter cameron wolf on today, uh, talking jaguars. You can catch him on the insider show on the nfl network which airs monday through friday at 7 pm eastern.
Speaker 1:Uh, to kind of continue on the subject of press taylor, uh, after the season ended, there was a report that the jags front office, led by, of course, trent bulky, uh was looking hard at where the offense was under Press Taylor. And this is a concerning trend with Baalke that we've seen kind of in the past when it comes to mingling in coaching matters. Do you get any sense that this coaching staff, which of course is led by Doug Peterson, is in lockstep with Trent Baalke in the front office? Because we have been very vocal on this show and a lot of people have about Trambolke being, you know an issue with football operations and do you think something appointing someone such as an EVP here in Jacksonville would be something that maybe they should look into because of that past and because of the you know the conversations that have been had.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's interesting. Everybody has a different way of running their org. Right, you can see Sam Fran do the process where they have that sort of what do you call it structure that you're talking about, where they have a GM. They have a EVP slash contract guy. In that respect, a president to sort of be. Ryan Carthon is the general manager there. You know Chad Brinker is their president, who also runs the contracts, and they just hire Bright Callahan to be the head coach. So some teams do that and you know it works for different folks.
Speaker 2:But I think when you look at a team as Jacksonville is, they have worked for three or three years under this same regime, worked for three years under this same regime and so, whether you like it or not, there's been a lot of chemistry, there's been a lot of cohesion coming together, and so I don't know that you're bringing a guy in year three of a system to try to gel. Two sides is necessarily working. I think that if they don't perform well this year and they don't make the playoffs, they don't do something. There's probably a real chance that there may have to be a decision made. And that's just how the industry works. The industry. If you don't have success if you take a step back, then sometimes people have to, you know, make changes, may lose their job, and I don't know how that looks like. But I think, as we go forward right now, I think both people are on the same side. Trevor's the face and the front of our team and we're going to move forward with him and our focus is on him. And I think that Doug very much has, and should have, ownership of his coaching staff.
Speaker 2:Like Doug Peterson, I've always been a believer that if you trust your head coach, you trust him to hire the staff, and I think that most coaches would agree that they want to hire the guys they want.
Speaker 2:They don't want to be forced into somebody or forced to make decisions, and so for people who want Press Taylor to be gone, you're, you know, doug's telling you he thinks you're wrong, he thinks that this team is better with the Press Taylor, and if you trust Doug then you should trust Press.
Speaker 2:And so I think that when you talk about the, the b, the bulky side of things, I think that the way this, this, this flow of the relationship, I think is healthier, is for Trent bulky to, to do what he's been doing, you know, trying to build this roster into a championship contender and for Doug Peterson to coach and try to get the most out of these players. Now I think they both understood there were some things on the coaching staff last year that they can maximize players a little better. You saw them rework a lot of the defensive coaching staff, including getting rid of mike caldwell and bringing in ryan nielsen, who I think is going to be a really good hire for them in that respect, and so I do think there's certainly things that they probably both agreed it needs to be coached better, but I'm a big proponent of coaches being able to, uh, have control of their coaching staff yeah, that's a good point in terms of you know when people are bringing up the EVP.
Speaker 1:You know, that is something obvious. I think a couple of years ago, jay was a storyline. But yeah, cameron, you're totally right, you know, at this point in time, what is that really going to do. You know, when it comes to this relationship, because year three, like you said, they got off to a great start and then the collapse happened, which Jay is going to talk about or ask you about here in just a moment. So, yeah, I think you know see how it plays out this year and then, like you said, some some real discussions need to be had in terms of the direction of this team. But, jay, I'll throw it over to you if you have anything else to add, or go into the next question.
Speaker 3:No, nothing to add there. But yeah, as you said, like I want to talk about that collapse, right that they had cameron and um, yeah, when you look at the collapse they had you, you know, as is the case with any team, they went into the offseason looking to rectify or fix what happened last year. And when you look at all of these moves they made collectively during the offseason, I just want to know, like, do you think they've done enough to get back over the top? Just a quick rundown, which I'm sure you already know, the main moves they made, but just a quick rundown. They lost Calvin Ridley.
Speaker 3:However, they added Gabe Davis and Brian Thomas in the draft at receiver receiver. Plus, they signed a veteran in Mitch Morse to be the center, which you know. That helps a lot because they were using a rookie previously there with Luke Fortner. And on defense they added Eric Armstead, who you know you already have mentioned that San Francisco organization, so I'm sure you know a lot about him too. But, yeah, do you think, like they've done enough to reclaim the AFC South from the Texans?
Speaker 2:I think they've improved the roster. Have they done enough to get the Texans? I think that's what the season is going to determine. I'm just going to be real with you guys. I'm very high on, would be most worried for, for the Jacksonville Jaguars, and a large part of it is because I think they got the right quarterback and they got the right coach and they're a young team that is ascending and they already have a strong offensive line which a lot of teams don't have with this level of young quarterback. They went and got Stefan Diggs and if that hits which not a a guarantee, but if it hits the way they hope it hits that kind of raises their ceiling and so um, but I will say this um, as much as I'm high on the houston texans, the houston texans are going through an off season, kind of like the jacksonville jaguars did a year ago, where they probably peaked a year earlier than people thought they were going to peak, and now they have expectations. Now they have pressure on their shoulders. Now they have expectations. Now they have pressure on their shoulders, now they have eyeballs. They're going to ask the national TV games. And how do you handle that Right being the hunted instead of the, the, the hunter Right, and so you know, maybe they secede with it. But I think Jacksonville found out that is not an easy position to be.
Speaker 2:Um, that being said, I think that you know the way they restructured their offseason after the surprise of Calvin Ridley leaving is very good, because I'm just going to keep it 100. They very much wanted and expected to get Calvin Ridley back. They offered a deal. They thought he was going to take it. He was going to take Jacksonville over New England all the way up until the last day. Within the hours I mean I'm sure there's been a lot reported on this, I'm not telling you guys anything new. But within the hours I mean I'm sure there's been a lot reported on this, I'm not telling you guys anything new. But they were pretty stunned that Tennessee came in in the last hour and stole them. But the reality is they adjusted. You know they went out there and they got Gabe Davis before the Calvin Ridley situation. They hoped to pair him together and they essentially replaced Calvin Ridley with Brian Thomas Jr. You know who's on a rookie deal, cheaper contract, a younger player. He's not as talented yet, but you know, maybe in year two, year three you start to have that potential and so I think he's a player who can grow with him.
Speaker 2:But to me, the biggest thing and I talked about this on NFL Network a couple of weeks ago I think people vastly underestimate the impact of Christian Kirk. I think that you know, like you guys mentioned, he gets this contract. A couple years ago that shocked the NFL and it's funny to think about now that it shocked the NFL because when you look at the deal, it was $18 million a year. Justin Jefferson is now making double that a year and so it's just context. At the time it was like, wow, what are we doing? Christian Kirk's now put up back-to-back seasons where he's shown that he is a proven top-tier receiver and he's a guy that Trevor immensely trusts.
Speaker 2:And when you look at last season and the collapse, they lost six of their last seven games, I believe, and the last six games, I believe Christian Kirk missed all of those games. I think the last game, the six of the last games, the one he got hurt in, and I think they went one and five in those games, like, I think there's a cause and correlation with how the offense got out of whack when Trevor didn't have his guy, his safety valve, and so he's already back in training camp. I was talking to a couple coaches. They were raving about how it looked like. It was like riding a bike with Christian Kirk and Trevor Lawrence right again, because they were back. They were back to their old buddies getting their flow again. So you get Christian Kirk and Evan Ingram in the inside and you have your two speed guys on the outside with Gabe Davis and Brian Thomas Jr.
Speaker 2:And I think one thing to really watch is they learned last year the value of getting off of press coverage with their outside receivers. Calvin Ridley really struggled to get off press coverage. He was number one in the NFL as far as the amount of times he was pressed, and I think teams really figured out that hey, if we press him we can slow up the flow of the offense, and so the hope is that Gabe Davis and Brian Thomas Jr are better in that aspect. They force defense to play a little bit more honest and deep, and that opens up even more for Christian Kirk and Evan Ingram and Travis Etienne in the you know, 0 to 15-yard area, you know in the horizontal routes, and so I think that'll certainly help the offense and then on the defensive side of the ball, you mentioned Eric Armstead.
Speaker 2:I thought that was a great signing for them.
Speaker 2:You know, there was a contract situation with San Fran where they didn't want to pay him what he was worth and he ended up leaving, and I think that you look at what had been missing in Jacksonville.
Speaker 2:I thought they really needed that interior dominant player who could rush the passer, who could play the run, and I think he's going to be a great fit with Ryan Nielsen. I spent a lot of time in Atlanta last year and got to learn about Ryan Nielsen. Players raved about him, particularly Grady Jarrett, who's their star defense tackle there. He raved about how he is and Nielsen's a former D-line coach, and so being able to get your hands on a guy like Armstead and being able to have him be the centerpiece of your D-line and then allowing your edge rushers and Josh Allen and Trayvon Walker to eat, I think it could be a really cool trio there to unlock, and so I think that it's going to be a fun team to watch. They have an uphill climb to chase those Houston Texans just because of just what we saw from them, but I think that this team should be right in the mix for the AFC South and even if they don't win a division, I think they certainly should be in the mix for a playoff spot.
Speaker 3:Yeah, man, on that Ridley situation, I mean you know we heard it from you, you covered it to the T, you know to the, you know basically, to the hour, basically, and you know it sounded like just, you know the reports you were putting out and others that Ridley was leaning towards coming, excuse me, and swooped in and through the contract that they threw at him. And you know the rest is history. You mentioned a good blurb there about Christian Kirk, right, and his importance to this offense. Yes, a lot of people have stressed how much including, I think, the coaching staff how much he loves and how much his connection or how great his connection is with Trevor Lawrence.
Speaker 3:I mean, a game that comes to mind when you were talking about him, right, look no further than that game with the Saints right, where he beat man-to-man coverage, and here you are mentioning the other receivers were struggling with that that game. In that particular play he changed the game because it was looking like the Jaguars might lose that one until he made that play. I think it might have been against Lattimore or somebody in the slide. I'll have to go back and look at it, but that just shows you how much of an impact and how much of a game changer he is to Trevor Lawrence and for this offense. So yeah, I agree with a lot of what you said right there pretty much.
Speaker 2:I think that's a great point. I was actually at that game too, that Thursday night football game in new Orleans, and you're absolutely right. I think that Christian Kirk is a central part for, for Trevor Lawrence, trust is a huge factor for young quarterbacks, like if you, your quarterback, doesn't trust you, it's hard for them to count on you and and gotta have it situations and it's clear that trevor trusts christian. So whatever the national, outside uh public thinks of christian kirk, I promise you jacksonville and trevor lawrence think a lot higher of him and so you know as much talk about his contract. I guarantee you that jacksonville thinks they got a bargain and wasn't it recently.
Speaker 1:I can't remember which receiver it was. Maybe you guys can remind me. Somebody named Christian Kirk in their top five. Yeah, it was either receivers, route runners, something along those lines. I remember that. I can't remember who it was either.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:But it was a really good receiver.
Speaker 2:Tyreek Hill mentioned that Christian Kirk could be in his top 10. I think the reality of it is we get so obsessed about the guys who are making these crazy 80-yard plays down the field and breaking tackles. That's not necessarily Christian Kerr's game. He's just going to continue to nickel and dime you and then, if you fall asleep on him, he's going to make that big play like he did in the Saints game and kind of turn things around. So I think he's going to take things even further to the next level around. And so I think he's going to take things even further to the next level. Like you know, I think people didn't realize he had to defer to Calvin on a lot of the plays last year. You know Calvin's number one on a lot of how the routes they run and so because of that, christian's the second read or the third read, and so now you look at the flow of the offense, christian Kirk should return to being the first read for Trevor Lawrence, and that could make for even a better season for him.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I mean literally from day one. Once Christian Kirk arrived, you could see that relationship building and of course, you know you can see what what they share on social media. But like they're literally Christian and Trevor and their wives are going on vacation together. You know they're going, they're immediately going out to dinner the first week that he was here and they're building that trust right away. So, yeah, really excited to have him back and we're always going to be Christian Kirk Stans around here in shape.
Speaker 1:But we'll get into our last question. Just one more reminder. We have Cameron Wolfe from the NFL Network, of course, catching him on the Insider Show, which airs Monday through Friday at 7 pm. Cameron, we thank you so much for your time as we get into this last one here.
Speaker 1:This is a great question to ask you because you spent a lot of time down in Miami and last month a $1.4 billion deal was agreed upon for the Jaguars to get stadium renovations and the new lease agreement that would keep the team in town for 30 more years. The city council has to vote on it first and then it will go up to the owners. I know you've probably attended several of these meetings, so we wanted to ask if you think if there will be any issue with the owners passing it. It will need to be a 55-45 split, with the city taking on 55%, which is $775 million. We thought the city may have put in closer to $1 billion when historically looking at these types of deals, but with them keeping it under $800 million, do you think the owners will have any issue with that?
Speaker 2:I don't expect there to be any hiccup there. Usually, if it is, it's a money issue. How much do we have to pay? Because a lot of times there's a split of how it works. Everybody has to pay, because a lot of times there's a split of you know how how it works is you know the everybody has to pay a lease of cut of something, and so it's hey do we want?
Speaker 2:to pay it as much, right? Um, I don't think it's an issue. The the. The thing that you got to think about is every owner has to go through this process, probably at some point in their tenure, of whether we have to have a new stadium or renovation stadiums usually the last, maybe what? 25, 30 years. So if you're going to be owner for a while, you've got to think I'm going to come up soon and do I want them to veto my ownership process? So we've seen Tennessee go through this, buffalo go through this in recent years, and so I don't anticipate there being a huge issue there. They'll pass it.
Speaker 2:My biggest question, and this is something that I don't really know the answer to, I know there was a lot of back and forth about the process. It seems like they're going through a process where they'll have to play elsewhere for a period of time, and I'm just curious how the fan base reacts to that. It's not necessarily perfect timing of having a franchise quarterback and having a team that's winning probably the most it has consistently in your franchise tenure and having to go elsewhere, and so I'm just curious how the fan base is going to react to that. But as far as a new deal. I don't anticipate as of now any issue with that.
Speaker 1:So I'll tell you this, because I'm a season ticket holder, as I mentioned. I'm here in Jacksonville and the options seem to be Orlando and Gainesville. I personally and since, again, you're in South Florida, I'd like to hear what you think. I don't want to drive to Orlando. If I don't have to, I'd like to stay away from Orlando. Gainesville is interesting because I just wonder about. I mean, obviously they're hosting huge games there on Saturday, so I do wonder about what the traffic would be like in and out of there, but obviously they have it set for that. So that's how I feel.
Speaker 1:Like you said, it's not ideal when you have a quarterback and you feel like you have a championship window and you want to see the team playing inside your own city. So that's how I feel about it. Like I said, avoiding Orlando at any cost. I am a little bummed that Daytona was kind of thrown out and that wasn't an option, because I would have preferred to do that. The reason I thought this was a great question for you too, because you spent the time in Miami. I was a little upset because we didn't get the full roof, but we're getting the canopy renovation. How is that down in Hard Rock State Does that help a lot with the shade.
Speaker 2:I will say this this is one of the biggest topics. I cover, both the Dolphins and the Bills, and this is an ongoing debate with them because, um, there was a game about a couple of years ago where the bills had to come down to miami, and last year too, in september, and it was probably the hottest game I've ever covered, um, and I remember there being about six or seven bills players that left the game due to dehydration, like, just like you hear and you know how you hear in a press box, this guy's injured, questionable to return or whatever it was like heat, dehydration, exhaustion, right, and so the way the Dolphins set up is made and Don Shula did this plan in the 70s and it was actually very smart for them actually in the 60s, 60s into the early 70s he has the entire opposing sideline. That is the open side.
Speaker 1:In the sun right. Yes, On the sun.
Speaker 2:The canopy is over the home side and so when you're on the field in Miami people don't know this Miami. It does not get over 100 degrees in Miami, just raw temperature. It's usually in the 90s, 95, 96, and the humidity makes it feel higher. So a lot of times your outside temperature may be 95 degrees with a feels like temperature of like 106, right, because of the humidity On the field is typically 10 to 20 degrees hotter on the opposing sideline. I remember being on the sideline for one of those Bills games and we had a thermometer and it was 124 degrees on the field of feels like temperature that day and I was literally shaking.
Speaker 2:As I'm doing some of these TV hits and so I get it, some of the complaints and I would imagine that some of the conversations with Jacksonville and the half canopy. If there is an advantage based on what I've seen in Miami, I think they will make sure that the home team and their side has that advantage and so it is still very much hot. Now I will say this what's also interesting, especially as you talk about Jacksonville probably trying to host other events, right, a lot of times when you build a new stadium, they want to host other events where there's concerts or eventually, maybe, a bowl game or a national title or something like that. Miami has done a really good job because people don't know this a lot of times the Hurricanes play at Hard Rock Stadium too, and a lot of times they'll play on a Saturday and Dolphins will play right again on a Sunday, and so they've used, like a hybrid field, a turf grass field that helps them be able to mitigate a lot more of the back and forth usage, a little bit more of the rain, a little bit more of the different elements that may affect the field. And so I wouldn't be surprised if Jacksonville looks into some of that, particularly given the Florida climate.
Speaker 2:And so the heat certainly is not going to not going to go away, it's going to be an issue. So the heat certainly is not going to go away, it's going to be an issue. And honestly, I think for Florida teams they prefer to have some sort of home field advantage, because they're going to go up north a lot of times in January to play in the playoffs. The Dolphins saw this this past year. You go to Kansas City. It's negative two degrees with a windshield of negative 20 degrees. That's their home field advantage, you know, and they were frozen fish out there and that's just a reality, and so when the cold weather team come down to florida and and september and october, they will sweat, and so I I think that that's probably going to be something that they keep and, if anything, it's going to favor the jacksonville jaguars on their, on their sideline with the canopy yeah, Again, any shade will help.
Speaker 1:It's gotten to the point now where because I do have a hard condition, so it comes to the point where I will skip a September game just because it is so hot, so you just got to be careful. Yeah, you do.
Speaker 2:You do. And one thing I will say and this is something that probably would be helpful for you and some fans if they do follow the Miami plan a lot of the canopies cover a lot of the fan sections doesn't cover all of them. I think some of the 100 level sections, the first half of the 100 level sections, um, are open, but most of the 203 level 100 level section are completely covered on miami side of things. So you're shaded as a fan, um, and even to the point where, if it rains, you don't have to go under for cover. You still feel the heat, but you might not feel the sun directly. So that may be something that you know. I think Jacksonville may look into as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I also spent probably four or five years in Dallas. And then you know, when you go to AT&T Stadium and you're like, oh, I'm watching a football game, and it's 70 degrees and it feels great, you know, any kind of shade will will certainly help. So I'll definitely take that. But, jay, is there anything else that you'd like to add on for our guest before we let him go and wrap this episode up?
Speaker 3:Now I mean Cameron kind of hit on it, man, and people wonder why the bills didn't ask for that extra taxpayer money to, like, make a full roof on the stadium. Right, it was, it was more than about affordability, it was, it was deeper than that. It's also because of that competitive advantage and, yeah, as, as Cameron said, like yeah, it does help from the perspective of getting other events there. The president of the team, mark Lampin, has talked about that and you know, bringing in more concerts, bringing in more US men's national teams and US men's women's national teams soccer games into it, so that you know that'll help, you know, from that perspective of getting more events in it. I think the Jaguars roof is a little bit, as Lampin said, a little bit more robust than what the Dolphins have from the standpoint that it covers all fans to some degree. So it'll be a little bit different from that aspect of it, but it's still open air on the side, so we'll see how that dynamic works.
Speaker 3:But yeah, man, yeah, you shed a lot of light there that I agree with in terms of being able to cover the Dolphins in their stadium situation and just kind of helping us draw the comparisons and parallels there, man. But yeah, I have asked all of my questions. Phil Cameron, we appreciate you being on Appreciate you. Yeah, go ahead, Phil. Was there anything else you wanted to add?
Speaker 1:No, that is going to be all, cameron. We appreciate you for your time. All of Cameron's links will be in the show notes of this episode, so make sure you check them out everywhere that we mentioned prior. I hope you have a great rest of your off season and we hope to see you in the regular season around here as well.
Speaker 2:For sure, for sure, I will be down in Duval. Thank you you.