Jacksonville Jaguars: No surprises in last round of roster cuts

The Jacksonville Jaguars, just like every other NFL team, had to cut down their roster from 90 players to 85. Thus, they announced this past Tuesday that they had released tight end Tim Tebow and wide receivers Josh Imatorbhebhe and Tim Jones. Also, they placed defensive tackle Daniel Ross on the Injured/Reserve List.

Imatorbhebhe and Jones signed with the Jaguars as undrafted free agents this year. From the very beginning, they were long shots due to the depth the team had at wide receiver. On the other hand, it was worth giving Tebow a chance as Jacksonville’s tight end room could use some help.

Tebow surely has a big profile but it wasn’t surprising to see him get released. After all, he struggled to make the transition from quarterback to tight end, and there were other players more deserving of a roster spot. The fact that he didn’t contribute on special teams also hurt his cause. Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer recently spoke to the local media and expressed that the reason why they moved on from the former Gator, via the team’s official website.

"Roster management is really critical as we journey here into the next two weeks. Two of the special teams’ phases are tackling and he (Tebow) had never tackled. We expect to be very good on special teams. The tight end position is one of those [positions], and tailback. If you can’t contribute on special teams, that’s a tough go."

In the end, the cons outweighed the benefits of keeping Tebow around and the team. Sure, his leaderships skills could have been valuable but there was no reason to give him a roster spot when players such as Ben Ellefson and Tyler Davis have had a better training camp and are significantly younger.

The Jacksonville Jaguars couldn’t afford to keep Imatorbhebhe and Jones.

Wide receiver is arguably the Jaguars’ strongest positional group and the one with the best depth ahead of the 2021 season. The three top spots on the depth chart will go to Marvin Jones Jr., DJ Chark Jr., and Marvin Jones Jr. Jamal Agnew will get the fourth one due to his value in the return game and Collin Johnson will most likely get the fifth. That leaves just one roster spot left and Phillip Dorsett, Laquon Treadwell, and Tavon Austin are competing for it. Simply, there was no room for either Imatorbhebhe or Jones.

The Jaguars have so much depth at wide receiver that 2021 sixth-round selection Jalen Camp won’t probably make the team either. Having said that, it will be interesting to see who ends up in the practice squad. Teams will be able to carry up to 16 practice squad players in 2021 and the Jags will most likely keep a couple of wide receivers around. Who would it be though? Camp, Jones, and Imatorbhebhe are rookies and the three of them have upside, so it would be worth development.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will have to trim down their roster from 85 to 80 players by August the 24th.  Their game against the New Orleans Saints will give several players a chance to make their case to make the team.