Mitch Morse explains signing with Jaguars over another suitor

Following his release from Buffalo in early March, center Mitch Morse honed in on two teams as he surveyed his market as a free agent: Jacksonville and Pittsburgh.

He ultimately signed with the Jaguars on a two-year, $10.5 million contract including $7 million guaranteed.

“It happened very quick. I got released on a Wednesday and committed to play I think Sunday for the Jags,” Morse said on the Love You Bro Podcast this week.

The Steelers didn’t make Morse’s decision easy, though.

Morse visited Pittsburgh before traveling to Jacksonville in those five days, allowing him to effectively compare each situation side-by-side.

“I was really hoping I wasn’t gonna like Pittsburgh. And I went there, and I loved everything about it,” Morse said. “I loved [head coach Mike] Tomlin. I loved the players.”

But coaching connections — Jacksonville head coach Doug Pederson was his offensive coordinator in Kansas City in 2015, and wide receivers coach Chad Hall joined the Jaguars last offseason after six seasons spent in Buffalo — and his belief in Jags quarterback Trevor Lawrence led Morse to Duval County.

“Then I went down to Jacksonville, and Doug was my O.C. my first year. We had a few coaches who were in Buffalo weirdly actually end up in Jacksonville over the years. It was the right decision for me and it was solidified through OTAs …

“I think Trevor was a huge point of that. I wanted to go to football heaven, and not to say the Steelers weren’t that option, they totally were. But something about Trevor and of course Doug and the other guys that I know, it just made that decision easy for me at the end.”

The Jaguars made Lawrence one of the two highest-paid quarterbacks in NFL history in average annual value earlier this month, rewarding him a five-year, $275 million contract extension, showcasing a belief similar to Morse’s that the quarterback can lead the team to the promised land: championships.

Morse will play a big part in helping Lawrence and the Jaguars as they reach for those heights. He brings nine seasons of starting experience to the middle of Jacksonville’s offensive line, including 13 starts in the postseason.