'I'm so happy': Jaguars' Adam Gotsis talks return, excitement for future of the franchise

Stability, a great city and an unbelievable coaching staff and locker room are all things that Jaguars defensive lineman Adam Gotsis was looking for when he entered free agency, but he didn't have to look far to find it.

All of those things were offered to him by the Jaguars after he signed a two-year pact with the team Monday, officially agreeing to terms with the team over the weekend.

Gotsis has been with Jacksonville since the 2020 season, signing one-year deals until finally getting a bit of stability with his most recent contract.

"It's unbelievable," Gotsis told the Times-Union on Monday via a phone interview. "[I] was here through some of the tough times and to have some success last year, it would have been a shame to have to leave that team and go start over somewhere else.

"I love being able to represent the Jags. All three years here, regardless of the result in the field, it's kind of felt like that … I love being a Jag, I don't want to leave. So to be able to ink a two-year deal, it's been awesome."

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During Gotsis' first two years with the team, the Jaguars won just four games, losing 15 in 2020 and 14 in 2021. In 2022, under head coach Doug Pederson, the Jaguars won nine games during the regular season, finishing with a 9-8 record and an AFC South crown.

The team went on to win their Wild-Card matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Divisional round of the playoffs. Gotsis didn't want to see that broken up and neither did the Jaguars, who have re-signed multiple players in hopes of returning a similar locker room to last season.

Jaguars found plenty of value in the versatile defender

For Gotsis, he felt his ability to play multiple positions as well as special teams was the cornerstone of his value. In 2022, Gotsis played multiple roles on the team's defensive front including defensive end and tackle. He accounted for 1.5 sacks, 19 tackles, nine quarterback hits and three tackles for loss.

According to Pro Football Reference, Gotsis played 293 — or 62.32 percent — of the team's special teams snaps, the fourth highest on the squad with only safety Andrew Wingard and linebackers Shaquille Quarterman and Caleb Johnson with more.

Gotsis grew up in Australia and has played a variety of positions in his life. He's even dabbled in punting and long snapping. His increased special teams snaps began after OLB K'Lavon Chaisson went down with a knee injury early in the season.

"I'm happy to put my hand up and say, 'put me on all four phases' and I'll make someone's day a long day on special teams," Gotsis said, explaining the value of playing special teams, putting the team in better positions to succeed.

"You look at some of the guys who have re-signed, Dewey [Wingard], Tre [Herndon], myself, we're all dudes that are big contributors on [special teams] that will play on special teams all day long and try and help this team get a win by any means."

Jacksonville recently re-signed Wingard to a three-year deal, while Herndon was signed to a one-year contract.

"I'm just happy that the coaching staff was able to see that, and the GM is able to see that and they're able to come together with a nice deal," Gotsis said of the team retaining his services.

"So for me, I'd been on three one-year deals after coming off my second ACL [injury] and to finally get something that shows a bit more investment from the club into, like, 'what you're doing is what we like,' that's really what I was looking for and for them to meet me with that, it's awesome."

'Hungry': Gotsis feels the team's young core has immense potential

Part of what made the Jaguars of 2022 so special was their ability to come together. After a turbulent 2021 campaign, there were questions about the franchise's stability and whether or not a full rebuild was necessary.

Though some change was needed — and occurred — Jacksonville's veteran and younger players simply banded together instead of continuing to spread apart. Part of that success and the culture that was cultivated in Jacksonville, Gotsis says, was thanks to Pederson and the rest of the team's coaching staff.

"[The coaching staff] really always is putting us in situations where we're going to be forced to gel with one another, forced to rely on one another," he explained. "It's not always going to be the offense to have to win the game or defense to win the game or special teams. It's a mixture of everything."

Gotsis compared Jacksonville's build over the last couple of years to the Eagles' build when Pederson was the head coach in Philadelphia. The team has veterans but surrounds the veterans with an abundance of young talent. With that, the team has had a chance to build from the inside, rather than go outside to acquire free agents.

"To be able to continue on with that and keep some of that talent in-house and not feel like you need to go to free agency to get what you need [when] you've got it right here, is big," he explained.

Really, the message the Jaguars have sent through the early portion of free agency was similar to the message that was sent throughout the season within the team's locker room, "it's about us," said Gotsis.

"It's always about us and that's what it was. Whatever was happening in that locker room, whoever was in that locker room and part of that, that's what it's about. It's about what are we doing for the guy to our left and right to hopefully change the direction of what had been happening here in Jacksonville and now it's about continuing that."

'Upside': Jaguars defense in store for growth in 2023

Though the team as a whole is quite young, the Jaguars' defense was also incredibly young with rookies Travon Walker, Devin Lloyd and Chad Muma taking part in plenty of meaningful snaps, while second-year players Tyson Campbell and Andre Cisco also played major roles starting on defense.

When asked about the team's young defense, Gotsis explained that another year in the Jaguars' system will do them well. The team has "upside in every facet of the defense," he said.

All of the team's rookies went through lumps, including Walker, the team's first-overall pick a year ago. Still, Gotsis expects big things from the soon-to-be second-year player.

"For Travon [Walker] being there now he's definitely going to [succeed] … he definitely got more than his feet wet last year. So he's going to come back and have a killer year," said Gotsis, also mentioning the team's young and hungry back seven players such as Lloyd and Campbell.

"We got playmakers everywhere. For them all to be young in their careers and for what they're doing, it's awesome and I think it's certainly up for us on the defensive side of the ball."

Now, Gotsis and the Jaguars will hope for more success in the future, and not just on defense.

In the final two games of the year, Jacksonville proved what success from a franchise will create — sustained fan appeal and excitement. The Jaguars sold out both of their final home games and that's something Gotsis wants to see in the future, noting how much love he and his family have seen and gotten from Jacksonville over the years.

"Awesome people, an awesome place to be," Gotsis said of Jacksonville. "But to the team, I understand the frustrations of the fans over the last few years, but they've stuck strong through us, they've supported us, they come down every Sunday, they get behind us and that's all we can ask is for them to keep doing that."

Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on Twitter at @Demetrius82.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars DL Adam Gotsis talks re-signing with team, potential of future