JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jaguars have their two starting cornerbacks locked up for at least the next three seasons after the team agreed to terms with former Seattle Seahawk Shaquill Griffin on a three-year deal, a league source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Griffin’s contract is worth $44.5 million with $29 million guaranteed, the source said.
The Seahawks and Griffin were far apart on money before the negotiating window opened, but Seattle made a strong push at the end and got very close, a source told ESPN’s Brady Henderson.
Griffin will pair with 2020 first-round pick CJ Henderson to give the Jaguars two young corners around which to build the secondary. They really needed the help: The Jaguars played man-to-man coverage at the fourth-highest rate in league last season and allowed a league-high 8.7 yards per attempt, per NFL Next Gen Stats.
The 25-year-old Griffin has been a starter for the Seahawks since early in his 2017 rookie season. The third-round selection began his career on the right side and had been the team’s No. 1 corner since moving to the left side in his second season after Richard Sherman was released.
Griffin has six interceptions in four seasons, including a career-best three in 12 games in 2020. He also has 48 passes defended.
He made his lone Pro Bowl as an alternate in 2019.
Griffin has played in 57 of a possible 64 regular-season games. He missed four games last season while dealing with a concussion and a hamstring injury. He missed one game in 2017 due to a concussion.
The Seahawks reunited Griffin with his twin brother Shaquem, a linebacker/pass-rusher, when they drafted him in the fifth round in 2018. The two also played together in college at Central Florida. The Seahawks aren’t tendering Shaquem Griffin as a restricted free agent, a source told Brady Henderson, which will make him an unrestricted free agent.
