Free agency in late July usually means camp bodies and depth signings, but this one has a little more juice to it. Adam Schefter dropped the news that Zay Jones took a visit with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and for anyone who remembers his run there, it tracks.
Adam Schefter broke the news that Jones sat down with the Jaguars on Sunday.
Free agent WR Zay Jones visited today with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Jones spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons in Jacksonville, and 2022 was the best year of his 9-year career by a wide margin — 82 catches, 823 yards and 5 touchdowns as a steady chain-mover in Doug Pederson's offense. He left after that stint, bounced to Las Vegas territory before landing in Arizona, and the Cardinals kept him around with a one-year deal worth $4.4 million heading into last season.
That season ended badly. Jones suffered an Achilles tear during Arizona's Week 10 loss to Seattle, the kind of injury that tends to erase most of the following year too. Now he's a free agent testing the market on the back end of a serious recovery, which makes a reunion tour with a team that already knows what he looks like at his best a pretty logical move for both sides.
The visit got confirmed again shortly after, spreading fast across NFL Twitter.
WR Zay Jones visited today with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
For Jacksonville, this isn't about replacing a WR1 — it's about adding a body who knows the building, the quarterback room and the route tree with camp bearing down. Depth behind the top of the receiver room is exactly the kind of thing front offices patch in late July, especially with a guy who doesn't need an adjustment period.
Nothing is signed yet, and coming back from an Achilles injury means teams will want a real look at his medicals before committing money. But if Jones lands back in Duval, it's less a reclamation project and more a guy going back to the only offense that ever got the most out of him.