{"id":20125,"date":"2024-12-02T04:16:41","date_gmt":"2024-12-02T04:16:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/?p=20125"},"modified":"2024-12-02T04:16:41","modified_gmt":"2024-12-02T04:16:41","slug":"jaguars-lt-walker-little-agree-to-extension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/?p=20125","title":{"rendered":"Jaguars, LT Walker Little Agree To Extension"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Jaguars have agreed to a three-year, $45MM extension with left tackle Walker Little<\/a><\/strong>, as ESPN\u2019s Adam Schefter<\/a> was first to report. The deal, which features $26MM in guaranteed money, will keep Little under club control through 2027.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Little, 25, was selected by Jacksonville in the second round of the 2021 draft and saw just six regular season starts over his first two professional seasons. However, three of those games \u2014 along with two more postseason appearances as a starter \u2014 came at the end of the Jaguars\u2019 exciting 2022 campaign, when the club rallied to a playoff berth and won a memorable wildcard round bout against the Chargers. Little\u2019s efforts during that stretch earned the praise of quarterback Trevor Lawrence<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This season, speaking shortly after the Jags traded<\/a> longtime LT Cam Robinson<\/a><\/strong> to the Vikings (thereby paving the way for Little), Lawrence said, \u201c[Little] had to come in, in \u201822 when Cam got hurt, and finish the season when we were on that run. We didn\u2019t skip a beat because he was prepared, and he prepared every day like a starter. \u2026 [H]e\u2019s more than ready and he\u2019s done a great job. I\u2019m excited for him. I\u2019ve got all the faith in the world, and he\u2019s played great so far\u201d\u00a0<\/em>(h\/t John Shipley of SI.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Little received extensive work in 2023 thanks in large part to Robinson\u2019s PED suspension and subsequent knee injury (though some of Little\u2019s action came at left guard). In 14 games (11 starts), Little was flagged for seven penalties and yielded 26 total pressures, seven of which got home for sacks. That amounted to a middling 58.8 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, which positioned him as the 58th-best tackle out of 81 qualifiers.<\/p>\n

Now the unquestioned starter at left tackle in the wake of this year\u2019s Robinson trade, Little has started each of the Jags\u2019 last four games and has allowed just one sack and three QB hits during that time. PFF has assigned him a strong 67.9 overall mark for his 2024 work, and his performance to date has convinced Jacksonville brass that Little is the right player to protect Lawrence\u2019s blind side for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n

Naturally, GM Trent Baalke<\/strong> was \u201cheavily involved\u201d in the Little negotiations, as Schefter confirms. Of course, Baalke is very much on the hot seat<\/a>, so it is at least notable that he is making major decisions that will impact the long-term future of the Jaguars. A rival executive tells Schefter that the Little extension is a sign that Baalke is planning to remain with the club, though Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle<\/a> throws some cold water on that notion. As Branch reminds us, Baalke authorized a five-year, $35MM deal<\/a> for tight end Vance McDonald<\/strong> in December 2016, when Baalke was serving as GM of the 49ers. Baalke was fired<\/a> less than a month later.<\/p>\n

Regardless of what it means for Baalke\u2019s future, Little\u2019s new contract likely takes the 2-9 Jaguars out of the running for an offensive tackle when they make their first pick of the 2025 draft, as ESPN\u2019s Field Yates<\/a> posits.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n