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The Jacksonville Jaguars released 21 players on Friday, one day before the NFL deadline to cut the roster down to 53 players for the regular season. Among the cuts was cornerback Marcus Trufant, but that move should not have been a surprise.
Instead the most surprising cut of the day was defensive end Pannel Egboh who had earned some positive reviews in training camp and preseason for his ability to contribute as a 5-technique in the new-look Jaguars defense. Behind Tyson Alualu and Jeremy Mincey on the depth chart, Egboh had a more natural build for the position than Mincey and seemed relatively strong against the run in preseason.
While many are highlighting Trufant as the most surprising of the cuts, the reality is that the Jaguars have and will continue to feature more lengthy, press cornerbacks in the new defensive scheme.
Listed at 5'11, 197 pounds, Trufant isn't a small corner, but he would have had to earn a spot as a nickel cornerback and that meant beating out second-year defensive back Mike Harris and recent addition Will Blackmon, a tall task for a player that will be 33 years old by the end of the 2013 season.
Ultimately, the 21 players released by the Jaguars did not feature a shocking name. Players like Tobais Palmer, Matt Scott and Julian Stanford were thought by some as guys that would make the final 53-man roster, but the real surprises have probably yet to come, as the Jaguars are likely to make some more moves before the end of the weekend.