Did Montaric Brown take less to re-sign with Jaguars?
· Yahoo Sports
Before the NFL's free agency negotiating window opened on Monday, the Jacksonville Jaguars were able to re-sign free agent cornerback Montaric Brown.
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While Brown is now back with the Jaguars after signing a three-year, $33 million deal, the thought up until recently was that he was going to test the open market.
"What was really interesting is this last week it really looked like Buster Brown would potentially try free agency," said the NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe. "He would have had a really nice market there, but the general manager of the Jags, James Gladstone, really stepped up the last 36 hours, got to where Buster Brown needed to be to stay."
That final push by the Jaguars helped get the deal across the finish line, but Brown made the choice to perhaps bypass some larger offers from elsewhere.
"Buster took a little less than maybe he would have gotten on the market," Wolfe added, "but he wanted to stay home. He gets to be with their defensive coordinator, Anthony Campanile, finally playing for a defensive coordinator two straight years, and they think it's only going to be great things ahead for Buster Brown."
Jaguars, focused on re-signing their own this March, landed a big one in homegrown CB Buster Brown who wanted to be in JAX agreeing to do so hours before he hit free agency.
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) March 9, 2026
More for @nflnetwork Free Agency Frenzy: pic.twitter.com/Ewox77kJ2c
Brown took a big step forward last season, showcasing his abilities to start on a weekly basis and perform at a high level while doing so. He allowed a completion rate of just 54% on 68 targets and held opponents to just 10.4 yards per catch.
Brown also flashed impressive ball production, coming away with two interceptions and forcing nine pass breakups.
All reports leading up to Monday suggested that Brown was going to have a relatively strong free agent market. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler even named him one of his sleeper free agents coming out of the NFL combine after speaking with execs.
Had Brown hit free agency, who knows how things would have played out for the Jaguars? But chances are, the Jaguars would have had to navigate a fair amount of competition to retain Brown.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: NFL free agency: Insider says Montaric Brown signed with Jaguars for less