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Jaguars Sign Chris Clemons

chris-clemonsJacksonville signed DE Chris Clemons to a four-year, $18 million contract, reuniting Clemons with his former defensive coordinator, Gus Bradley.

Clemons returned five games into the season for the Seahawks last year after suffering a torn ACL in the 2012 playoffs, and ultimately was a key cog in the Seattle pass-rush machine last season.

After floundering for most of his first five seasons in the league, Clemons really hit his stride when he joined the Seahawks in 2010, topping double-digit sacks in each of his first three seasons with the team as the “LEO” pass rusher.

Jacksonville is still a team in transition. They were arguably the worst team in the league over the first half of last season, but seemed to find an identity under Bradley down the stretch. Adding Clemons is another step in Bradley’s remaking the defense in his own image. With the Jags re-upping on Jason Babin and adding Red Bryant, Bradley has some of the key pieces in place to run his 4-3 “Under” scheme.

It’s still too early to tell exactly how Clemons will be deployed, but it's reasonable to expect to see him in a situational role in the Jags' pass rush rotation. Babin, who was re-signed, was used in the “LEO” last season, so we could see a platoon between the two veterans. If this is the case, neither player is particularly desirable as a fantasy option.

However, this move could open up a potentially enticing situation for IDP owners in Seattle. Down the stretch of the 2013 season, Cliff Avril was arguably the Seahawks’ best pass rusher. With Clemons out of the mix, Avril stands to see a slight uptick in playing time. Seattle will still deploy a heavy rotation, so Avril will not be a viable DL1, but his value now sits squarely in the back end of the DL2 tier.

 

Editor's Note: Be sure to check out our new Mock and Companion Draft Tool! Utilizing our updated player projections, run a quick mock draft and see where this year's crop of free agents are coming off the board in early fantasy football drafts.


Jeff Ratcliffe is the Assistant Managing Editor and resident IDP maven of PFF Fantasy. 

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