MONDAY, 3:35pm: Sanders has gone unclaimed on waivers, making him a free agent, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
FRIDAY, 3:11pm: The Jaguars have parted ways with Ace Sanders, announcing today that they’ve officially cut the wide receiver (Twitter link via John Oehser of Jaguars.com). Assuming Sanders isn’t claimed by another team, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent next week when he clears waivers.
Sanders, 23, was selected 101st overall in the fourth round of the 2013 draft by the Jaguars. The South Carolina product had a decent rookie season, hauling in 51 balls, though he only averaged 9.5 yards per catch and reached the end zone just once.
However, Sanders wasn’t a major part of the offense last season, after Jacksonville used multiple 2014 draft picks to add receiving help. Sanders saw just seven targets in 2014, earning most of his playing time on special teams, where he returned 32 punts, averaging 7.1 yards per return.
Sanders’ remaining prorated bonus money totaled about $227K, so Jacksonville will continue to carry small cap numbers for him in 2015 and 2016. As Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union points out (via Twitter), Sanders now figures to be the only player drafted by the Jaguars’ current regime who won’t be at training camp this summer.