Over the next 4 month the jaguars will be narrowing it’s roster from the 90+ players that are currently on it to the 53 that will make the trip to Minneapolis this September to open the season. In my opinion there are 39 players who pretty much have their roster spot locked up. That leaves 14 available spots to be won. I wanted to highlight some of those battles we’ll be seeing over the offseason, but I’ll start by listing all the players I consider safe:
Quarterback: Blaine Gabbert, Chad Henne
Running back: Maurice Jones-Drew, Rashad Jennings
Fullback: Greg Jones
Tight End: Marcedes Lewis, Zach Miller
Wide Receiver: Laurent Robinson, Lee Evans, Justin Blackmon, Mike Thomas, Cecil Shorts III
Left Tackle: Eugene Monroe, Cameron Bradfield
Left Guard: Will Rackley, Jason Spitz
Center: Brad Meester
Right Guard: Uche Nwaneri
Right Tackle: Eben Britton
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Defense:
Left End: Aaron Kampman*, Andre Branch
Defensive Tackle: Tyson Alualu
Nose Tackle: Terrance Knighton
Right End: Jeremy Mincey, Austen Lane
Weakside Linebacker: Clint Session, Brandon Marshall
Middle Linebacker: Paul Posluszny, Russell Allen
Strongside Linebacker: Daryl Smith
Cornerback: Derek Cox, Rashean Mathis, Aaron Ross, Mike Harris
Free Safety: Dwight Lowery
Strong Safety: Dawan Landry
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Special Teams:
Kicker: Josh Scobee
Punter: Bryan Anger
Long Snapper: Jeremy Cain
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So that leaves the 14 spots that are up for grabs, these are the people who I think will be in consideration for them:
1) Courtney Greene vs Rod Issac vs Chris Prosinski (keep the best 2)
I'd give the advantage to Issac and Prosinski since we drafted them, they're younger, and can contribute on special teams.
2) John Chick vs Ryan Davis
If Chick is healthy he'll compete for the spot
3) Zach Potter vs Colin Cloherty
Potter is a better blocker, Cloherty is a better receiver, so it will probably come down to what Mularkey considers more valuable
4) Montell Owens vs Brock Bolen vs Dujuan Harris (keep the best 2)
Bolden is your prototypical fullback and can bull through some guys. Owens is a special teams ace and has shown some decent moves when given the ball. Harris started to come on at the end of last season and showed some flashes.
5) D'Anthony Smith vs CJ Mosley vs Jeris Pendleton (keep the best 2)
Depends on Smith's health and the roles that each players could fill.
6) Mike Brewster vs John Estes
Pulling for Brewster but if Estes plays better then he should get the spot
7) William Middleton vs Ashton Youboty vs Kevin Rutland (keep the best 2)
Gonna be pretty competitive but if I had to guess I'd say Youboty and Middleton get the spots.
8) Nelson Rosario vs Jarret Dillard vs Chastin West vs Brian Robiskie
Probably going to be the most competitive battle seeing as there's 4 players competing for one spot. Pulling for Dillard to make it.
9) Guy Whimper vs Daniel Baldridge
I don't really know that much about Baldridge but after the way Whimper performed last season I hope they make him earn his spot.
That brings us to 52. I left the 53rd spot open for whatever position the coaches consider to be the biggest need to have depth at, or for some unkown player to emerge.
So.........what do y'all think?
P.S. I'm writing this as a fan, not as an expert.