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Donte Moncrief is gladly gambling on himself.

The former Indianapolis Colts receiver signed a one-year [url=http://www.newyorkgiantsteamonline.com/lawrence-taylor-jersey]Lawrence Taylor Jersey[/url] , $7 million contract with AFC South rival Jacksonville on Thursday, believing he will prove he’s worth a more lucrative, long-term deal.

”I love that deal,” Moncrief said. ”I know what I’m capable of, I’m back healthy and I’m going to go out here and show these guys what I can do, show the NFL and put everything on my shoulders and give Jacksonville all I got and help these guys win. I know I can.”

The Jaguars are counting on Moncrief to help offset the loss of former Pro Bowl receiver Allen Robinson, who signed a three-year, $42 million deal in free agency with Chicago.

General manager Dave Caldwell said keeping Robinson would have cost more than the team was willing to pay for a not-so-speedy receiver coming off knee surgery.

”It was difficult,” Caldwell said. ”Obviously we have a connection with A-Rob. We drafted him here. We saw him kind of grow into the player he was. … We’ve tried to put our best foot forward and get him back here and it didn’t work out. Obviously wish him the best, but once that happens, we go to Plan B and Plan C.”

Jacksonville could have placed the franchise tag on Robinson. That would have guaranteed him a salary of $15.9 million in 2018, which would have made him one of the highest-paid receivers in the league.

The Jaguars clearly didn’t think Robinson was worth it. Instead [url=http://www.buccaneerscheapstore.com/m.j.-stewart-jersey-cheap]M.J. Stewart Youth Jersey[/url] , they used the money to sign All-Pro guard Andrew Norwell in hopes of solidifying a ground game that stalled down the stretch last season.

The 26-year-old Norwell was the gem of Jacksonville’s free-agent class. The former Carolina Panthers standout signed a five-year deal worth $66.5 million Thursday.

”Obviously we have a philosophy of how we’re going to play and what we want to do and he fits all of those,” Caldwell said. ”Tough, nasty, run-blocker, very good pass protector. Started, been healthy and is the right age to invest into.”

Tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins, cornerback D.J. Hayden, safety Don Carey, safety Cody Davis and tight end Niles Paul also signed free-agent contracts with Jacksonville on Thursday.

Seferian-Jenkins visited earlier in the day and ended up with a two-year, $10 million deal.

”My No. 1 goal to accomplish with this team is earn my teammates’ respect,” Seferian-Jenkins said. ”I’m going to let all that other stuff handle itself.”

The Jags also re-signed receiver Marqise Lee to a four-year deal worth $38 million. It includes $18 million guaranteed.

”I weighed all my options,” Lee said. ”At the end of the day [url=http://www.jaguarscheapstore.com/dj-chark-jersey-cheap]DJ Chark Youth Jersey[/url] , when I really sat down and thought about it, a lot that played into my decision were the people around the building. The trainers, the equipment staff, my teammates, I enjoyed them for my four years, so as far as change, going somewhere else, I don’t feel like it was necessary.”

Lee, Moncrief and second-year receivers Dede Westbrook and Keelan Cole will be counted on to stretch defenses and create extra running room for Leonard Fournette. Westbrook and Cole showed promise during the regular season, but went mostly missing in the postseason.

”They’re growing up,” Lee said. ”They understand what they got to do this second year and how much we’re depending on them as far as getting their jobs done.”

The same could be said for Moncrief, who had 152 receptions for 1 [url=http://www.cincinnatibengalsteamonline.com/joe-mixon-jersey]Joe Mixon Youth Jersey[/url] ,875 yards and 18 touchdowns in four years with the Colts. He missed 11 games the last two years because of shoulder and toe injuries.

He’s healthy now and welcomes the stakes that come with signing a one-year contract. He feels it’s a safe bet.

”They were just things that were holding me back,” he said. ”Now, I’m finally healthy and I know what I’ve got in me and it’s on my shoulders and I’m ready to go.”

—

Sidney Crosby scored his fifth goal of the series and became the Pittsburgh Penguins‘ career postseason points leader in a 5-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night.

The Penguins lead the first-round playoff series 3-1 as its shifts to Pittsburgh for Game 5.

Matt Murray stopped 26 shots for his second shutout of the series and the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins are a win away from playing in the second round for the 11th time in the last 12 seasons.

Crosby scored in the second period for a 4-0 lead and passed Pittsburgh owner and Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux for most playoff points with 173. Crosby and the Penguins followed a 7-0 Game 1 win and a 5-1 Game 3 victory with another dominant outing.

Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel and Kris Letang each scored to give the Penguins a 3-0 lead in the second and chase Flyers goalie Brian Elliott. Riley Sheahan made it 5-0 late in the third.

SHARKS 2, DUCKS 1

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) – Tomas Hertl scored the tiebreaking goal 9:09 into the third period, Martin Jones was spectacular in goal yet again, and San Jose Sharks completed a first-round sweep.

Hertl scored just 1:16 after the Ducks finally got a puck past Jones when he deflected a point shot from Marc-Edouard Vlasic past John Gibson. San Jose then held on to advance to the second round against the expansion Vegas Golden Knights.

Fourth-line winger Marcus Sorensen scored for the third straight game to open the scoring for San Jose and Jones did most of the rest of the work with 30 saves.

Andrew Cogliano scored the lone goal for the Ducks, who were outscored 16-4 in the series and swept for the first time since 1999 against Detroit. Gibson finished with 22 saves.

LIGHTNING 3, DEVILS 1

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) – Nikita Kucherov scored two goals, set up another and knocked New Jersey’s top defenseman out of the game with a big hit [url=http://www.dallascowboysteamonline.com/leighton-vander-esch-jersey]Leighton Vander Cowboys Esch Jersey[/url] , and the Tampa Bay Lightning moved within a game of making the Devils‘ first trip to the playoffs in six years a short one.

J.T. Miller also scored and had two assists, and Vezina Trophy finalist Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped three breakaways in making 27 saves as the Lightning bounced back from a loss in Game 3 to tale a 3-1 lead in the first-round series.

Tampa Bay can wrap up the best-of-seven series in Game 5 at home on Saturday.

Kyle Palmieri scored on a 5-on-3 advantage for the Devils. Cory Schneider made 34 saves.

New Jersey’s Sami Vatanen was knocked out of the game on the hit by Kucherov late in the first. No penalty was called but Kucherov appeared to jump before hitting Vatanen in the shoulder and head area.

PREDATORS 3, AVALANCHE 2

DENVER (AP) – Filip Forsberg scored another creative goal, Pekka Rinne rebounded from a rocky performance with 31 saves, and Nashville withstood a furious rally by Colorado to take a 3-1 lead in the first-round series.

Colton Sissons and Craig Smith also added goals for the Predators, who can close out the best-of-seven series Friday when it shifts back to Nashville for Game 5.

Rinne was solid early after being pulled from the last game. Cruising along and up 3-0, the Vezina Trophy finalist allowed Gabriel Landeskog’s 5-on-3 power-play goal in the third and another on Alexander Kerfoot’s tap-in off a rebound.

Colin Wilson nearly tied with about 2 minutes left when his shot appeared to hit the post. The Avalanche pulled backup goalie Andrew Hammond late, but couldn’t get the tying goal.

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