4 players the Jacksonville Jaguars won't miss in 2023

No. 2 player the Jaguars won't miss in 2023: Shaquill Griffin, CB

The Jaguars didn't have many bright spots during the Urban Meyer era and you will be hard-pressed to find anyone who thinks he shouldn't have been kicked to the curb after turning the team into an utter mess. There were some positives though and cornerback Shaquill Griffin was one of them.

Griffin signed a three-year deal worth $40 million and quickly became a key cog in Jacksonville's secondary. Although the defense routinely got torched, the former UCF Knight routinely played reasonably well. Moreover, put on display his leadership throughout the ups and downs, talking to the media on behalf of the team after a loss, which was often.

After the arrival of Doug Pederson, Griffin seemed poised to be even better in 2022. However, he suffered a back injury in training camp that would hinder his performance in the regular season and after five games, he was shut down for the year.

The coaching staff moved Darious Williams to Griffin's spot in they and didn't miss a beat was the first sign that the latter could be near the end of his tenure with the Jags. In fact, Jacksonville might have been able to designate him to return from Injured Reserve for the playoffs but chose not to.

With his replacement already in place, the Jaguars chose to release Griffin earlier this year, which created $13. 5 million in space and left $4 million in dead money. Although the Florida native was free to join any team he wanted, there wasn't much demand for his services and had to wait a couple months to latch onto the Houston Texans, who gave him a one-year deal worth a maximum of $4.5 million.

All in all, Griffin was an important contributor for Jacksonville in 2021 but the Jaguars' cornerback room is now in better shape. Moreover, he's now with a divisional rival, and his former teammates will hold no punches when they face him in 2023.