5 Jaguars who could be surprise roster cuts after training camp

No. 4 Jaguars surprise roster cut: Shaquille Quarterman, LB

NFL teams find hidden gems in the middle or late rounds of the draft every now and then but they can’t go into the fourth round expecting to select a Pro Bowler. Instead, clubs will be looking for developmental players, future backups, or low-risk, high-reward prospects that slid in the draft due to character concerns or medical red flags. Based on the spot the Jaguars took linebacker Shaquille Quarterman, they’ve gotten solid value from him.

A fourth-round pick in the 2020 draft, Quarterman has mostly seen time on special teams over the last two seasons. He did log 142 defensive snaps in 2021 but that was only 13 percent of the Jags’ total snaps. He looked like a candidate to compete for a starting job just a couple of months ago. However, Jacksonville decided to give their linebacker corps a facelift. They signed Foyesade Oluokun in free agency and later drafted Devin Lloyd and Chad Muma.

Oluokun and Lloyd will tentatively take the two starting spots in defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell’s 3-4 scheme, leaving Muma as the primary backup and pushing Quarterman and Chapelle Russell down the depth chart.

The Jaguars might choose to carry just four off-linebackers into the 2022 season and if that’s the case, Quarterman could compete with Russell for the last roster spot. The latter started one game last season and could make a push in training camp, which could make Quartermann the odd man out.