Analyzing the Jacksonville Jaguars Roster Moves So Far
By Daniel Lago
General Manager David Caldwell continued his wholesale face-lift of the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday afternoon by picking up a handful of waiver victims and surprisingly releasing a few players.
Out
In
WR Jordan Shipley
TE D.J. Williams
FB Lonnie Pryor
TE Clay Harbor
TE Brett Brackett
WR Stephen Burton
C Dan Gerberry
G Jacques McClendon
DT Kyle Love
LB Chris McCoy
DB Antwon Blake
S Winston Guy
LB Andy Studebaker
LB J.T. Thomas
At this point, any move made by Caldwell shouldn’t be surprising given how loose this season feels. Caldwell and head coach Gus Bradley essentially have a flyer on this season and are willing to give anyone a look. Still it would’ve been nice to see someone like Lonnie Pryor – a young player with the potential to develop into a long term cog – stick around at a spot that doesn’t have a guaranteed starter. Releasing Jordan Shipley is also curious, especially without claiming a similar player to replace him. D.J. Williams is a guy I liked coming out of Arkansas and could fill the “move” tight end role that we hoped Ryan Otten would fill. Stephen Burton is a tools guy who has the speed to contribute in the passing game but didn’t contribute much in Minnesota last year (5 receptions on 11 targets).
The most surprising move however might be cutting defensive tackle Kyle Love. Love played relatively well in the preseason and fit perfectly in the rotation with Roy Miller. Letting Love and T.J. Barnes go leaves the Jaguars very thin on the defensive line. Clearly Caldwell is planning on making a few more moves before the regular season starts. It’s probably best to not to get too attached to a lot of players this year because the roster is clearly going to be very fluid.
A lot of roster moves throughout the regular season usually coincides with a team doing poorly, but don’t fret too much. Every loss gets us one step closer to salvation.
Sweet salvation. Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
Sweet salvation.
– Daniel Lago
Yell at me on Twitter @dlago89