The Jacksonville Jaguars found a potential replacement for Calvin Ridley in free agency.
The Jaguars and former Buffalo receiver Gabe Davis agreed to a three-year, $39 million contract during the NFL's legal tampering period Monday, according to a person familiar with negotiations. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal can't be announced until the new league year begins Wednesday.
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Davis could earn up to $50 million with incentives, the person said.
Adding Davis means Jacksonville is likely moving on from Ridley, who is expected to be one of the top receivers on the market and probably not affordable for a team with little salary cap flexibility right now.
The Jaguars also agreed to sign former Green Bay safety Darnell Savage (three years, $21 million), former Baltimore kick returner Devin Duvernay (two years, $8.5 million) and journeyman cornerback Ronald Darby (two-year, incentive-laden deal), the person said. Jacksonville will be Darby's sixth team in 10 seasons.
Savage replaces Rayshawn Jenkins. Duvernay takes over for Jamal Agnew. And Darby steps in for Darious Williams, although the Jaguars likely will draft a plug-and-play cornerback with an early round pick.
The Jaguars also had a three-year agreement in place with Denver kicker Wil Lutz on Monday, but Lutz changed his mind a few hours later and decided to remain with the Broncos, the person said. Jacksonville now has to restart its search for someone to replace Brandon McManus.
Replacing Ridley seemed like a strong possibility once the Jags used their franchise tag on standout pass rusher Josh Allen. Ridley caught 76 passes for 1,016 yards and eight TDs in his lone season in Jacksonville.
Re-signing him before free agency would have cost the Jags a second-round draft pick they didn’t want to give up. Instead, they will give Atlanta a third-rounder to essentially rent Ridley for 17 games.
And they'll turn to Davis to team with fellow receivers Christian Kirk and Zay Jones. Davis caught 163 passes for 2,730 yards and 27 touchdowns in four years with Buffalo. He had six more TD receptions in the playoffs.
The 6-foot-2 Davis grew up in nearby Orlando and should give quarterback Trevor Lawrence a bigger option for 50-50 balls and help the offense be more effective in the end zone.
Davis is the latest — and most notable — addition to Jacksonville's offense. The team re-signed left guard Ezra Cleveland to a three-year, $28.5 million contract, agreed to sign former Bills center Mitch Morse to a two-year, $10.5 million deal and renegotiated a lower cap number for right guard Brandon Scherff.
The Jags also traded a sixth-round pick in next month's draft to New England for quarterback Mac Jones, who will compete for the backup job behind Lawrence.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl