Trading Josh Scobee Was Smart, Necessary Business Move for Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Josh Scobee, arguably one of the most important players in franchise history, has been traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a sixth-round draft pick in the 2016 NFL draft, per ESPN.com's Mike DiRocco.

Scobee is entering his 12th season in the NFL and was the second most experienced player on the roster, a year behind defensive end Chris Clemons. He leaves a hole in the team, but the Jaguars are prepared to move forward. 

There may not be a tougher decision to make than to trade a franchise staple like Scobee, as general manager Dave Caldwell said: 

As the offseason progressed, it appeared that Scobee had secured the job, as has been the case the past decade or so. However, sophomore kicker Jason Myers impressed later in the summer, per DiRocco, and the actual battle began.

Neither seemed to edge the other out, mostly due to both having similar leg power and accuracy. However, Scobee had the experience and importance of being an 11-year veteran as well as the Jaguars' all-time leading scorer.

Ryan O'Halloran of the Florida Times Union reported that an unidentified league source said the Jaguars kept both Myers and Scobee after the initial cut to 75 players to try to see if any teams gunning for the playoffs would trade for either of them.

That turned out to be a solid move, and the Steelers came calling. Steelers kicker Shaun Suisham tore his ACL early this August, and the team was desperate for a proven veteran kicker.

In a press conference early Monday afternoon, head coach Gus Bradley addressed Myers' lack of regular-season experience: "A lot of times, you hope you can take a look at that on special teams by heightening the environment to see how they respond. You see that and just go off of that. There's going to be a learning curve for everybody that's out there for the first time."

Myers has impressed in the preseason, making four of his five field-goal attempts, including a 55-yard attempt. His only miss was from 58 yards out, but he has the leg to make that distance and more.

However, Myers is young and will certainly miss his fair share of attempts. The Jaguars understand this, and they made this decision to allow him to work toward the future as early as possible. He's got serious talent, and the more the 24-year-old sees the field, the better he'll be.

Scobee's move also makes financial sense. He was scheduled to make $3.43 million this year, and that's a lot for a kicker, especially for one who only made 76.9 percent of his field goals last season, as seen in the table below.

That 76.9 percent is nearly 5 percent below his career average, and while Scobee has been clutch in various situations, he's had inconsistency, such as his 64.3 percent completion rate in 2009. There was no guarantee from him this season, and that makes him a little bit easier to part with.

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

It also opened up a current roster spot for defensive end Camaron Beard, as seen above. Beard was scheduled to be waived, but the roster spot that Scobee has left open now allows him to work for a final roster spot instead.

Scobee's leaving was inevitable, whether it was this year or the next or possibly the year after. At 33, he is reaching the twilight of his career. Some may claim that the Jaguars would be better off with him anyway, but it's still a business.

A team's transition from a franchise legend to an inexperienced talent is a hard one to make, and there will be growing pains. The move was almost a necessity, though, and Caldwell showed an excellent business mind by making it happen.

Initially, it's tough news to take. This wasn't easy for anyone, but it was the best way to make the transition. Now the Jaguars have to move forward and put their trust in Myers.

Field Goals Attempted	Field Goals Made	Completion Percentage	Long	Extra-Point Percentage
20	26	76.9	53	100

What do you think? Was cutting Scobee the wrong move? Or is the transition to Myers a good thing? Answer the poll, and comment on your favorite Scobee moment below!

All stats were provided by ESPN.com unless otherwise stated.

Evan Reier is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report covering the Jacksonville Jaguars. Follow Evan on Twitter @evanreier.