Jaguars announce initial 53-man roster

The Jacksonville Jaguars officially announced a slew of roster moves ahead of Tuesday's 4:00 p.m. deadline to reduce the roster down to the regular season 53-player limit.

Here’s an overview of the activity as of today.

RELEASED:

The following players were not truly “waived” as they are vested NFL veterans due to having earned at least four accrued seasons. They are now free to sign with any team.

• OL Chandler Brewer
• OL Bobby Evans
• OL Blake Hance
• RB Qadree Ollison
• DL Michael Dogbe
• CB Tevaughn Campbell

WAIVED:

For the players who are waived, they are subject to a 24-hour waiver period in which other teams can place a claim for them. The following players are now subject to the waiver wire.

• LS Tucker Addington
• K James McCourt
• QB Nathan Rourke
• RB Snoop Conner
• OL Coy Cronk
• OL Darryl Williams
• OL Samuel Jackson
• WR Kevin Austin Jr.
• WR Jacob Harris
• WR Seth Williams
• WR Oliver Martin
• WR Kendric Pryor
• TE Derek Parish
• TE Josh Pederson
• TE Gerrit Prince
• DL Raymond Vohasek
• DL De’Shaan Dixon
• LB Dequan Jackson
• OLB D.J. Coleman
• OLB Jordan Smith
• OLB Willie Taylor III
• S Latavious Brini
• S Ayo Oyelola
• CB Divaad Wilson
• CB Kaleb Hayes
• CB Erick Hallett II
• WR Jaray Jenkins (injury designation)

ADDITIONAL ROSTER MOVES:

• OT Cam Robinson was placed on the reserve/suspended list
• OL Josh Wells was placed on injured reserve
• TE Sammis Reyes was placed on the reserve/retired list
• DL Henry Mondeaux was placed on the reserve/injured list
• LB Ventrell Miller was placed on injured reserve
• OLB Dawuane Smoot was placed on the active/physically unable to perform (PUP) list
• CB Chris Claybrooks was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list

BUBBLE PLAYERS ON THE INITIAL ROSTER:

• WR Tim Jones
• WR Elijah Cooks
• OL Cole Van Lanen
• OL Cooper Hodges (likely headed to short-term IR)
• LB Shaq Quarterman
• LB Caleb Johnson
• OLB K'Lavon Chaisson
• CB Christian Braswell
• CB Chris Claybrooks

ANALYSIS:

• A few players were fortunate to retain their roster spot due to injuries of others. For instance, LB Shaq Quarterman was likely on the roster bubble had Ventrell Miller not been injured in the final preseason game. OL Josh Wells' injury may have opened up another roster spot for Cole Van Lanen.
• Blake Hance being waived initially shocked some fans. However, he is expected to return to the team. This looks to be another example of great roster management, similar to when they made the same move with Adam Gotsis in the 2022 offseason.

• The final roster is not set in stone. However, I would expect fewer additions from other teams’ roster cuts than say last season when Jacksonville claimed five players including RB Jamycal Hasty, K Riley Patterson, and WR Kendric Pryor.
• There was also this juicy report from Josina Anderson on WR Parker Washington:

With the team surprisingly keeping seven receivers, it seems likely that at least one additional move may be pending between Elijah Cooks, Parker Washington, or elsewhere in the receiver room.

• The team is likely hopeful that a few of the released players will pass through waivers and land on the team's practice squad. I expect a few of the following players to potentially make it back to the team: RB Snoop Conner, OL Samuel Jackson, WR Jacob Harris, TE Josh Pederson, and CB Divaad Wilson.

A few players have simply put too much solid tape out there for them to make it through waivers for all 32 teams, in my opinion. This is a really good problem to have for a deeply built roster. The Jaguars are now at a point where they are cutting quality players, who will likely land on a roster elsewhere and potentially earn meaningful snaps. I could see the following players getting snapped up somewhere:

• QB Nathan Rourke is a former CFL MVP who set league completion records. He had 12 teams interested in him when he signed with the Jaguars this offseason. He then made many highlight-worthy plays this preseason that will likely earn him a waiver from teams.

• OL Darryl Williams spent a good portion of the pre-season as the team's backup center and a potential swing-guard option.
• OL Samuel Jackson is someone I hope squeaks through to the Jaguars' practice squad, but solid big guys are hard to find in this league.
• WRs Kevin Austin Jr., Jacob Harris, & Seth Williams lost out in a highly competitive camp battle within a deep position for the Jaguars. Each had solid preseasons in their own right.
• TE Gerrit Prince and DL Raymond Vohasek were surprise cuts from the perspective of many fans. Each had good preseasons showing improvement with quality preseason tape.
• CB Erick Hallett II had a quality preseason. I honestly thought that Chris Claybrooks' placement on the commissioner's exempt list might provide Hallett an avenue to secure a roster spot. With Hallett being a recent draft pick, in a deep cornerback position for the Jaguars, he could garner interest on the wire.

Who do you foresee making it back to the practice squad, Big Cat Country? Who's someone you think has no chance of passing through waivers after their camp and preseason? Let us know in the comments.