Stefen Wisniewski to Jaguars: Latest Contract Details, Comments and Reaction

The Jacksonville Jaguars have reached a contract agreement with free-agent offensive lineman Stefen Wisniewski, the team announced. He spent the first four years of his career with the Oakland Raiders.

ESPN's Adam Schefter initially passed along word of the deal Saturday. Fox Sports' Mike Garafolo reported the one-year deal was for $2.5 million.

The Jaguars provided comments from GM David Caldwell, who spoke about the addition: 

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We had the opportunity to spend time with Stefen earlier this month and remained in contact with him with the hopes of getting a deal done. We are excited to get him on board before we officially start our offseason conditioning program next week.

He gives us great position flexibility along our offensive line as he has started at both center and guard during his career. He has a familiarity with our offensive system and brings a lot of experience to our offensive line room.

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Wisniewski later spoke about his decision to come to Jacksonville, saying that head coach Gus Bradley "really blew me away talking about his vision," via Michael DiRocco of ESPN.

Mark Long of the Associated Press also shared Wisniewski's goals with his new team, saying: "My plan is to be a starter. If I have to compete to get there, that's fine."

Wisniewski also revealed that he had surgery to repair a torn labrum in January and that the rehab process is going well, via John Oehser of Jaguars.com.

As for his old team, Vito Stellino of Jacksonville.com shared the center's thoughts on factors that contributed to his exit:

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Wisniewski was selected by the Raiders in the second round of the 2011 NFL draft. He's started 61 of a possible 64 games over the past four years. He has spent most of that time playing center, but he's also capable of shifting to guard.

Last season, he was part of an Oakland offensive line that ranked third in pass protection but 28th in run blocking, per Football Outsiders' rankings.

The Penn State product has shown a nice combination of power and football IQ—the latter being vitally important when playing center and directing the line calls. He's not a top-tier lineman, but he's certainly a reliable, well-rounded performer.

That's why it was a bit of a surprise that the Raiders allowed him to hit the open market.

Wisniewski didn't have much trouble finding a new home. The demand for offensive line help around the league far outweighs the supply. So his track record of being a long-term starter, along with his versatility, made him a popular target before he made his choice.

Wisniewski becomes the latest addition in the Jaguars' rebuilding effort. While the franchise has struggled in recent years, it has an up-and-coming offense led by second-year quarterback Blake Bortles. 

There will be a transition period as Wisniewski settles into his new system. Linemen are often viewed as the muscle of the operation, but they are essential to success. Plenty of quarterbacks and running backs would surely attest to that.

All told, Wisniewski isn't the type of signing that's going to jump off the screen, but he's a solid acquisition who should help bolster the play up front.