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The Jacksonville Jaguars are planning to use the franchise tag on left tackle Cam Robinson, preventing him from hitting the free-agent market and making him the blindside protector for presumptive No. 1 draft pick Trevor Lawrence.
Coach Urban Meyer said Tuesday that “we are headed in that direction.”
Meyer said veteran offensive line coach George Warhop, one just a handful of assistants Meyer retained from the previous regime, “feels very strong” about Robinson’s development.
“We realize that he has a great future,” Meyer said during a video call to preview free agency. “His ceiling is very high. I’ve studied him very much. I spent some time with him.
“We feel that the way the free agency is moving is that left tackle position — as always but maybe more now this year from hearing from the guys who have been in the NFL — this is a tough year for that left tackle position and we feel just what’s out there and with coaching, culture and development, Cam has a lot of the talent.”
Tagging Robinson will guarantee him about $14 million in 2021, a number that could fluctuate either way depending where the NFL salary cap ends up. A second-round draft pick from Alabama in 2017, Robinson made a little more than $7 million in his first four years in the league.
Robinson has started 50 of a possible 67 games, missing 14 games in 2018 after tearing a knee ligament.
Meyer said he planned to speak to Robinson later Tuesday to inform him of the team’s plans. He added that the expectation is to sign Robinson to a long-term deal.
Jacksonville has the most salary cap space (roughly $85 million) of any team in the league.
“Our intent is to have Cam Robinson play for the Jaguars for a while,” Meyer said.
Jacksonville is coming off a 1-15 season, the worst in franchise history. Meyer has spent the past two months studying the team’s personnel and made it clear Tuesday that the offensive line is one of the team’s strengths.
He believes Robinson and right tackle Jawaan Taylor have their best football ahead of them and really likes the interior trio of center Brandon Linder and guards Andrew Norwell and A.J. Cann. The line helped undrafted rookie James Robinson run for 1,070 yards and seven touchdowns in 2020.
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