The Jaguars have cut safety James Sample and signed safety Jeron Johnson to take his place on the roster, as John Oehser of Jaguars.com tweets. Jacksonville selected Sample in the fourth round of the 2015 draft, but he has struggled with shoulder and forearm injuries over his first two seasons in the league and has appeared in only four games as a result. All four of those games came in his rookie campaign, as he was placed on IR prior to the 2016 season.
Johnson is entering his seventh season in the league and has suited up for the Seahawks and Redskins in his career. He has been deployed primarily as a reserve defensive back and special-teamer and has just two starts to his credit. He performed well enough for Seattle from 2011-14 to land a two-year pact with Washington in 2015, but the Redskins cut him loose after just one year. He returned to Seattle last December and was part of the club’s playoff push, but the Seahawks did not re-sign him this offseason. He worked out with the Giants in June but left without a contract.
Barry Church and Tashaun Gipson make up Jacksonville’s starting safety tandem, but Johnson will have a chance to compete for a reserve role with the likes of Peyton Thompson, Jarrod Wilson, and Jarrod Harper. It is more likely, however, that he was signed for the contributions he could make to the Jags’ special teams unit, which was sub-par in 2016.