Jaguars claim 5 players in first round of waivers

The Jacksonville Jaguars own first priority in the waiver wire to start the 2022 season. They took advantage early by claiming five new players on Wednesday afternoon.

The team also announced the corresponding release of five players from its original 53-man roster.

It’s not a surprise to see Jacksonville add a running back to its current group. Fifth-round rookie Snoop Conner has been throughly unimpressive in preseason action despite a solid training camp, and former San Francisco 49er Jamycal Hasty will now have a real opportunity to contribute with James Robinson and Travis Etienne both coming off 2021 injuries.

Hasty was cut by the Niners despite them keeping six running backs (including fullback), which came as a surprise considering Hasty is smaller albeit quicker and better as a receiver out of the backfield than perhaps all of San Francisco’s rostered backs.

While myself and most of Jaguars Twitter were expecting the team to land receiver Tyler Johnson, who was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Tuesday, Jacksonville ended up snatching former Cincinnati Bengals wideout Kendric Pryor. The undrafted rookie was headed to the Bengals practice squad following an impressive preseason before the Jaguars claimed him.

Will Richardson Jr. was drafted in the fourth round in 2018 and played the role of swing tackle for most of his time in Jacksonville, though he also gained recent experience inside at guard. His release is a good sign for recent acquisition Cole Van Lanen, who had a solid preseason showing against San Francisco’s deep defensive line group (below) and played well for Jacksonville against the Atlanta Falcons last week.

Meanwhile, the waiving of outside linebacker Jamir Jones is good news for undrafted rookie Da’Shaan Dixon, who started the summer behind Jones but made the team after a strong preseason.

The subtraction of both of Jacksonville’s former kickers means former Lion Riley Patterson has no current competition for the starting kicker gig. I think they should give Doyle McPoyle a tryout.

Safety Josh Thompson figured to be on the roster bubble considering the Jaguars already have Andrew Wingard and preseason standout Daniel Thomas rostered as viable backups and special teams contributors. He and Rudy Ford, who was released earlier this week, are out as defensive back Tyree Gillespie moves in. The Ocala native was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the fourth round of 2021 after starting in center field for three years for the Missouri Tigers.

Ford signed with the Green Bay Packers just before it was announced that Jacksonville used its first claim on former Packer Ty Summers. The 2019 seventh-round pick is listed at linebacker but primarily plays special teams.