4 veterans who should not be on the Jacksonville Jaguars roster in 2024
• But they also need to infuse youth in their roster
• That means parting ways with a handful of veterans
3. Tyler Shatley
Tyler Shatley is the longest-tenured player on the Jaguars roster, having been around since 2014. Like Herndon, he was an undrafted free agent. After finding out that he was garnering lots of interest from other teams, Dave Caldwell chose to keep him around before roster cuts. That was one of the best decisions he made leading the front office, as Shatley has gone on to appear in 149 games with 40 starts, 34 of them coming the past four years.
This season alone, Shatley has made four starts, taking over at left guard in relief of a struggling Ben Bartch in Week 4. He returned to the sidelines the following game but came back when Walker Little, who was bumped inside after Cam Robinson's return from a suspension, got hurt. In previous years, Shatley has also lined up at center, and right guard, giving the coaching staff lots of flexibility on the interior offensive line.
Simply, Shatley is the kind of player teams love to have around because they can step up at any given time. That said, he's a high-end backup but not much else at this stage of his career. Otherwise, he would've seized a starting job a while back. It was telling that the Jaguars preferred to move left tackle Walker Little when they had the chance rather than keep Shatley at guard. Given that the two-year deal he signed in 2022 expires after this season, maybe it's time the Jags part ways with the veteran.
While it would make sense to bring Shatley back on an affordable two-year deal, the coaching staff needs to also start developing players and get younger in the offensive trenches. Having Shatley around could make it difficult.