Jacksonville Jaguars NFL Trade and Roster Rumors: Will the Jaguars Trade Allen Hurns?
A lot of people thought Allen Hurns would face an uphill battle to make the Jacksonville Jaguars' 53-man roster when he came into the league as an unheralded wide receiver out of the University of Miami in 2014.
As an undrafted rookie, Hurns wasn't expected to make much of an impact. While he has good size, he didn't really have top-end speed. However, Hurns worked hard and when several Jaguars receivers got injured in training camp he made the most of his opportunities. He ended up winning the starting job and he has been one of the Jaguars' best offensive players since then.
The Jaguars found a gem in Hurns and he signed a four-year, $40-million extension to stay in Jacksonville last summer. But he started to regress last season because of a nagging hamstring injury and he missed five games.
With rookies Dede Westbrook and Keelan Cole joining the team this offseason, Hurns may not have a firm hold on the starting job this time, and the Florida Times Union's Ryan O'Halloran has speculated that the Jaguars may place him on the trading block in the coming weeks.
That's quite plausible. However, parting ways with him seems risky. That's because aside from Allen Robinson, the other wide receivers on their roster are fairly untested on the field.
"In theory, the Jaguars do have good wide receiver depth. But beyond Allen Robinson, there are question marks. Marqise Lee hasn't really asserted himself yet, Rashad Greene hasn't shown much and rookies Dede Westbrook and Amba Etta-Tawo are not proven commodities," FanSided's Brad Berreman said in his column.
With the First Pick's Jon Dove also agrees that trading Hurns may not be such a good idea.
"The Jaguars are hoping to make a playoff run this season and trading away an established playmaker like Hurns would be odd," Dove said.
The Jaguars may Hurns him if they think he's expendable. However, they will have to think long and hard if they are willing to take the risk.