Chris Rodriguez: Everything you need to know

Sports Illustrated's John Shipley projects Rodriguez to open the season as the Jaguars' lead running back. "Though I am not sure there will be enough of a difference between [Rodriguez's] workload and Bhayshul Tuten's worth talking about," Shipley wrote Thursday. After Travis Etienne left for the Saints in free agency, Jacksonville signed Rodriguez to a two-year, $10 million deal. Rodriguez played for coach Liam Coen in college at Kentucky, and the Jaguars have pointed out how they like Rodriguez's ability to earn the tough yards after contact after he finished eighth out of 58 qualifying running backs in yards after contact per attempt (3.46) last season. The coaching staff certainly has an affinity for Rodriguez, and Tuten is going to have to show more than he did as a rookie (3.7 yards per carry) to earn more playing time.

Rodriguez is signing a two-year contract with the Jaguars, Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com reports. The Commanders decided not to give Rodriguez a restricted free agent tender, and the Jaguars pounced on an opportunity to add some power to their backfield. With Travis Etienne off to New Orleans, the Jags currently have Rodriguez, Bhayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen as favorites for the top three spots on the depth chart. They could still add more via free agency or the NFL Draft, but right now it looks like a good spot for Rodriguez to earn playing time in a promising offense.

Rodriguez is an unrestricted free agent after the Commanders opted against tendering him, Ben Standig of Big 100 Washington D.C. reports. A restricted free agent tender would've cost at least $3.5 million, so the Commanders may still try to re-sign Rodriguez at a lower cost. He's proven competent as a power runner, but without much hint of the pass-game skills that would allow him to handle larger snap counts.