Roster Moves Show Jaguars Have Confidence In Receivers Group

What's the last thing a team would want to do if they are not happy with the group of receivers they have? Waiving an injured receiver that didn't have any participation in training camp and waiving a veteran receiver that never saw the field during the first preseason game of the year, wouldn't be my first moves.

Following a game in which receivers like Mike Thomas and Brian Robiskie had strong showings, the Jaguars did just that, releasing both Taylor Price and Lee Evans.

With rookie first round pick Justin Blackmon now signed and top free agent acquisition Laurent Robinson essentially guaranteed roster spots, the competition for the lower receiver slots on the roster slimmed with the release of the two receivers on Sunday and showed the confidence the Jaguars have in the rest of the receivers.

"We're just trying to build on what we've done," Robiskie told reporters following the Jaguars win Friday night. "We're just trying to get better every day. Camp is still but we're definitely trying to go out every day and find something to improve on. Hopefully if we can do that every single day and build on that going into the season, we'll be all right."

Now the Jaguars have Cecil Shorts III and Thomas who would certainly be very surprising cuts at this point, along with Robiskie, Kevin Elliott and Mike Brown, among others fighting for roster spot or two.

Now, sure, a pessimistic approach to the news of the waiving of two receivers could be that they were just so bad that they were no longer worth keeping around, akin to the Jaguars releasing Jason Hill during a 2011 season in which the receivers were terrible.

But by releasing one player that never even saw the practice field and another that saw the practice field, but was held out of the preseason game, the only logical conclusion is that the Jaguars are happy with what they've seen so far.

"All our receivers had a great night," Blaine Gabbert told reporters. "We made a bunch of plays and he almost had the big deep ball down the sideline but he played really well."

The Jaguars added one more receiver to the mix on Sunday when they signed former Ravens wide out Demetrius Williams. Williams has played in 46 career games and recorded 63 receptions for 1,008 yards and four touchdowns, including two touchdowns of 70+ yards. He also played with the Browns in 2010, but did not record a catch and was released in final cuts during the 2011 preseason.

The Jaguars also announced on Sunday the signing of guard/center Josh Beekman, a starting lineman for the Bears in 2008 and 2009 and member of the Indianapolis Colts in 2011.