Jaguars announce 53-man roster for 2023 NFL season: 3 takeaways
• A few moves were expected on the Jaguars 53-man roster
• But a few others were a bit surprising
• Here are three that stood out.
Like any other team, the Jacksonville Jaguars needed to trim down their roster from 90 players to 53 by 4:00 p.m. Tuesday. While some players were locks to make the cut e.g. Trevor Lawrence, there were a few surprises. The first one was that the Jags kept seven wide receivers.
That's right. Jacksonville had a crowded receiver room and they were going to make a few tough decisions. Still, the team's brass managed to keep seven receivers, including rookies Parker Washington and Elijah Cooks. Both of them were garnering attention from teams around the league ahead of the deadline but they ended up staying up.
Elijah and Parker are currently participating in walkthrough for what it’s worth…They know folks have eyes out. 😎 https://t.co/uqKT2sMOfw
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) August 29, 2023
While the Jaguars could (and probably will) make a few moves in the upcoming days, it's great to see Cooks, an undrafted free agent, make the cut. Having said that, carrying seven receivers into the 2023 season wasn't the only thing that stood out on the initial 53-man roster. Here are three more.
3. Garret Prince didn't make the Jaguars roster, he's a candidate for the practice squad
Sophomore tight end Gerrit Prince had a strong training camp and made plays in the preseason. On top of that, the Jags carried four tight ends last year, so it was easy to project Prince to earn a roster spot come cutdown day. However, he was waived early in the day.
Although this is a bit of surprising news, the Jaguars needed the spot that could've gone to the former UAB Blazer at other position groups. As noted before, the Jaguars kept seven receivers. Calvin Ridley, Christian Kirk, Zay Jones, and Jamal Agnew all were locks to make the cut.
Parker Washington and Tim Jones also seemed to have a favorable shot of making the roster, so it's possible that the Jaguars didn't want to waive Elijah Cooks and run the risk of another team swooping in and claiming him.
Keep in mind that this is just a conjecture but one that explains why the Jaguars may not have kept Prince. That said, there's a good chance Jacksonville will sign the sophomore tight end to the practice squad if he clears waivers.