The Jacksonville Jaguars could use extra reinforcements at a handful of positions, but wide receiver isn't currently one of them. This is why the news that they had hosted Zay Jones for a visit in the early stages of training camp came as a bit of a surprise.
Jacksonville has no shortage of talent at receiver with Jakobi Meyers, Parker Washington, Brian Thomas Jr., and Travis Hunter. The bottom half of the depth chart is also in good shape due to the presence of rookies CJ Williams and Josh Cameron.
Meanwhile, injuries have held back Jones the past three years, including his last season at Duval. This begs question: why did the Jags have him for a visit? Could they be preparing to make a big move?
The Jaguars currently don't have a roster spot for Zay Jones
More often than not, teams host players when they suffer an injury or want to bolster a position. The Jaguars haven't suffered an injury or needed help at receiver, so they might have brought in Zay Jones to see if he could help them at some point down the road.
But if Jacksonville were to sign Jones in the immediate future, they would need to free up a roster spot because they're currently at the 90-player limit. Sure, the team's brass just placed Garrett DiGiorgio and Cole Van Lanen on the Physically Unable to Perform List, but they still count toward the 90-man roster during training camp and the preseason and up until cutdown day.
That still doesn't answer the question, why would the Jags consider adding Jones?
Zay Jones could give the Jaguars a depth piece if needed (but not much else)
At this point of his career, Jones isn't more than a depth piece. He's appeared in 29 games with eight starts the past three seasons, hauling in a combined 54 receptions for 588 yards with two touchdowns.
On the other hand, Jones had a career season with the Jags in 2022, catching 88 receptions for 823 yards with five touchdowns. Still, that was nearly four years ago, and Jacksonville has much better depth than when Jones was around. This is why it would only make sense to sign him if either the Jags lost a receiver to an injury or wanted to reinforce the position.
Brian Thomas Jr., Parker Washington, Jakobi Meyers, and Travis Hunter are pretty much guaranteed a roster spot. Rookies CJ Williams and Josh Cameron also appear to have favorable odds of making the team. That's six roster spots, five if you count Hunter as a cornerback.
Either way, Jacksonville has a surplus at receiver, so it wouldn't make sense to add Jones to the current group, especially when you take into account that Williams and Cameron have bigger upside at this stage of their young careers.
One unlike possiblity is that the Jaguars want to have insurance in case Parker Washington holds out (or in) during training camp. For context, Washington is entering a contract year and is eligible for a contract extension. It doesn't appear to be an issue right now but could be down the road.
An even more far-fetched scenario would be to sign Jones if the Jags traded either Washington or Brian Thomas Jr., but both of them seem to be a big part of the team's plans.
Barring anything unexpected, the most logical explanation may also be the simplest: The Jaguars could kick the tires on Zay Jones in training camp and see what he brings to the table, and even that is not a given. Either way, it's interesting to muse on why they bring him in to begin with.
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