Meyer laments process for wooing free agents
Urban Meyer never got a chance to recruit any free agents to Jacksonville, and he’s not happy about it.
Because of NFL rules, Meyer had to agree to sign players without meeting them in person — a process he found troubling and far different from how things work in college.
“That was awful,” Meyer said Friday. “I don’t believe it should be that way, not when you’re making organization decisions. I don’t know how that rule came about, but to me, that’s not good business.”
Meyer could have waited and tried to schedule interviews with free agents after the league’s “legal tampering” period, but by then many of the top guys would have been long gone.
So he had to step out of his comfort zone and woo guys with money instead of his plan-to-win pitch that worked so well during college stops at Ohio State, Florida, Utah and Bowling Green.
“There really wasn’t the recruiting element of it,” Meyer said. “It came to value. Are you willing to pay this kind of money for that player at a position of need? I didn’t feel the recruiting element. I was ready to. I had my recruiting stuff ready to go. But it didn’t really come down to that. It came down to are you going to pay the player and get in the game?”
Meyer ended up with a dozen new players, including four defensive linemen and two veteran receivers. He didn’t get any of the biggest names on the market even though Jacksonville had more money to spend (about $73 million) than any other team. The reason? The Jaguars had too many holes and too little talent to cherry pick a few high-priced players.
“In recruiting, we’d identify the best players and say, ‘Go get them,’” Meyer said. “And then all off a sudden I start finding out this guy cost $28 million dollars and this guy costs. Of course, I knew it.
“But just the way you put that puzzle together: Here’s your cap space, here’s your choices. ‘Can we take him or get three of these guys to help?’ I imagine once you build your roster exactly the way you want it, then you can take one guy and go get the $25 million athlete. We’re not in a position to do that right now. We’re just not.”
So Meyer and general manager Trent Baalke settled on being value shoppers, believing quantity was the most important approach given the team’s lack of talent and depth after finishing 1-15 last season.
Jacksonville signed cornerback Shaquill Griffin (three years, $44.5 million), safety Rayshawn Jenkins (four years, $35 million) and defensive end Roy Robertson-Harris (three years, $24.4 million) on Thursday.
Four more women sue Watson for sex assault
Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson has been sued by four more women who accuse him of sexual assault and harassments. The lawsuits were filed Thursday night, hours after the NFL said it was investigating earlier allegations by three massage therapists who said the quarterback sexually assaulted them during massages.
Watson, 25, has broadly denied that he acted inappropriately and said in a Tuesday statement that he looks forward to clearing his name. His attorney and agent have not responded to subsequent requests for comment.
The claims in the four new suits, which were filed in a Harris County court, mirror those in the three earlier cases. Each woman who sued Thursday worked in a spa or gives massages and claims that Watson exposed himself, touched them with his penis or kissed them against their will.
Smith-Schuster sticking with Steelers
JuJu Smith-Schuster is keeping it “lit” with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The free-agent wide receiver surprisingly opted to return to the Steelers on Friday just days after strongly hinting that his departure on the open market was imminent.
“Can’t say it enough, I love you Pittsburgh,” Smith-Schuster posted on Twitter. “Came in here a young 20 year old and you guys embraced me from the moment I got here. So much love. Had my back thru everything, all the struggles and success. So hard to leave. See you this Fall in Heinz.“
The deal coincides with what could be quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s final season. Roethlisberger adjusted his contract earlier this month to free up a small bit of salary cap space for the Steelers.