Jacksonville Jaguars: Rudy Ford wants to ‘be part of something great’

Before free agency started, Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer said that it was the team’s priority to revamp the secondary. Based on the signings they made, it’s fair to say they accomplished their goal, as they added cornerback Shaquill Griffin and safety Rayshawn Jenkins in the open market. Although it didn’t receive as much attention, they also brought in former Philadelphia Eagles safety Rudy Ford, who said in his introductory press conference that he wanted to be part of something great.

Ford says that he plans to play a big role on special teams and help his team as much as possible. Later in the sit-down, he added that Meyer has high regards for special teams and said that he trusts the coaches to use his versatility and deploy him how they see best.

The 2017 sixth-round pick also talked about his relationship with Jaguars sophomore safety Daniel Thomas, whom he met in Auburn. He sees Thomas as his little brother and points out that he was a freshman when he was a senior and says that it’s great to be able to reconnect with him.

Later in the conference, Ford was asked about his reasons for joining the Jags. He said that the opportunity to be part of something great played a role. He mentioned he likes the energy and the vibes, which made it a no-brainer for him. He also said signing with Jacksonville kind of reminded him back when he came out of high school and had to choose a school (spoiler alert, he went to Auburn).

Rudy Ford’s will be valuable for the Jacksonville Jaguars on special teams.

For the moment, it looks like Jenkins and Jarrod Wilson will be the Jaguars starting safeties in 2021, so Ford, along with Thomas, will be the team’s primary backups. On the other hand, Ford should be able to carve a niche on special teams. In 2020, he played on 31 percent of the Eagles’ total snaps on special teams and appeared in 47 percent the season before.

The Jaguars couldn’t sign every free agent available in the open market and looked for value instead. While Ford’s won’t have the same impact as Griffin or Jenkins, he will have a role with the team, a small one but a role nonetheless.