Darqueze Dennard Remains Free Agent After Failing to Agree to Jaguars Contract

Former Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Darqueze Dennard will no longer sign with the Jacksonville Jaguars because "the two sides could not come to an agreement on the final contract terms," the Jags confirmed Thursday, per John Reid of the Florida Times-Union.

Dennard is still an unrestricted free agent.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport had reported on March 17 that the 28-year-old was headed to Jacksonville.

Dennard was selected 24th overall in the 2014 draft by Cincinnati. The Michigan State product had a career year statistically in 2017 with career highs in interceptions (two), sacks (two), passes defended (six), tackles (85) and games played (16).

Dennard carried that momentum into 2018, making a career-best nine starts:

The Georgia native, who was ranked the No. 22 corner last season by Pro Football Focus, did not make his 2019 debut until Week 7 after offseason arthroscopic knee surgery.

Dennard appeared in nine games overall (five starts) and made the most of his time on the field for the league-worst 2-14 Bengals. He led "the team in catch rate allowed below expectation at 16.3 percent, according to NFL Next Gen Stats," ESPN wrote. "Overall, he allowed just 16 completions on 36 targets last season."

ESPN's Field Yates added that Dennard's initial intention was to sign a three-year contract with Jacksonville before negotiations fell apart.