4 players not named Tim Jones the Jaguars must add to practice squad

No. 3 candidate for Jaguars practice squad: Kevin Austin Jr., WR

There was plenty of hype surrounding wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr. after joining the Jaguars as an undrafted free agent. The former Notre Dame Irish missed his sophomore campaign due to off-field issues and a good chunk of the 2020 season with a fractured foot. However, he bounced back in 2021 and hauled in 48 receptions for 888 receiving yards with seven touchdowns.

Unfortunately, Austin didn’t do much of note in the offseason and was outperformed by fellow undrafted wide receiver Lujuan Winningham. Moreover, he struggled with drops in training camp. Nevertheless, he’s survived two rounds of roster cuts but won’t probably be around after the last one.

The Jaguars’ brass probably likes his upside (even with the drops) and might be willing to wait for him to develop into a solid contributor. If that’s the case, the best course of action would be to sign him to the practice squad.

After all, most of the Jaguars’ wide receiver spots on the depth chart have already been earmarked and one, two at most, are still open. And they will go to either Tim Jones or Jeff Cotton Jr., so there’s no room for Austin on the active roster.

The Jaguars’ brass added Christian Kirk and Zay Jones to their wide receiver room in free agency, so it didn’t make much sense to invest an early pick in the position. However, signing Austin once the draft was over was a low-risk move.