5 Jaguars in a worse roster spot after 2022 NFL offseason

No. 2 Jaguars player in a worse roster spot – Daniel Thomas, S.

Back in 2020, injuries pressed then-rookie safety Daniel Thomas into the starting lineup and he fared well, recording an interception, seven total tackles, and two passes defensed. Nevertheless, an arm injury cut the former Auburn Tiger’s season short.

Even though Thomas showed flashes in his first NFL campaign, the coaching staff went with Andrew Wingard and Rayshawn Jenkins as the starters in 2021. Moreover, general manager Trent Baalke used a third-round pick on Syracuse’s Andre Cisco. When Jenkins suffered a season-ending injury, Thomas and Cisco ended up rotating at safety and once Wingard was placed on the COVID-19/Reserve list, the two of them started.

Jenkins should make a full recovery this offseason and Wingard was brought back on the restricted free-agent tender, meaning that both Cisco and Thomas will go back to the bench. There’s a chance the former will compete with Wingard for the starting spot next to Jenkins, which means that Thomas will most likely start the year on the bench. You could make the case that he’s proved he deserves a shot at a starting job in 2022 but it’s unlikely that he will.

Wingard hasn’t particularly impressed and if he hadn’t returned this offseason, either Cisco and Thomas would compete for one of the two safety jobs in training camp. They might need to wait until next year.