News & Info/Headlines

Chad Henne agreed to a two-year contract to remain with the Jaguars and we now have a pretty good idea of the plan at the position. According to the Florida Times-Union, head coach Gus Bradley said re-signing Henne was "very important. We talked about Chad being a top priority right after the season and now to get it done prior to free agent starting, I think it opens up some other options for us."

Bradley said Henne will be the starter entering the start of OTAs this spring. He said Henne would likely be the Week 1 starter even if the Jaguars draft a quarterback No. 3 overall, which Times-Union staffer Hays Carlyon believes is unlikely.

General manager Dave Caldwell said throughout the process that he wanted to retain Henne, who started 13 games in 2013. Carlyon reports the Jaguars wanted to keep Henne in the fold because of his knowledge of offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch’s system.

The two-year contract is worth $8 million. According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the deal includes $4.5 million guaranteed. The maximum value on Henne's deal is up past $15 million if he starts and the team makes the playoffs. Caldwell confirmed the contract included incentives for starting games.

Henne started in all four of the team’s wins last season. He completed 60.6 percent of his passes.

In his six-year career, Henne has thrown for 12,439 yards with 55 touchdowns and 66 picks. He was originally drafted by Miami in the second round of the 2008 draft. Henne signed with the Jaguars as an unrestricted free agent on March 15, 2012.

Owner Shad Khan indicated his team would draft at least one quarterback this year. As NFL.com's Kevin Patra points out, retaining Henne as the stopgap allows Jacksonville the opportunity to sit a young quarterback if he isn't ready to start from the get-go.

The move is one more indicator that Blaine Gabbert's days in Jacksonville are coming to a close. Patra notes that while the Jaguars have spoken kindly of the former first-round draft pick, but their actions have spoken louder. As Hays put it, "Gabbert’s future with the Jaguars is now in real jeopardy."

Gabbert would count $3.8 million against Jacksonville's salary cap if cut, but the team has plenty of cap space. A split is likely best for both sides.