The Jaguars have claimed veteran receiver Josh Reynolds after he was waived by the Broncos on Tuesday, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
With an available spot on their 53-man roster after placing Trevor Lawrence on injured reserve, the Jaguars opted to add veteran reinforcements at receiver with Christian Kirk and Gabriel Davis currently on IR.
Reynolds has been through a tumultuous season, initially landing on injured reserve in October due to finger surgery before being wounded in a shooting in Denver later that month. He only made 12 catches for 183 yards and a touchdown in his five games pre-injury, though his 9.6 yards per target represented a career-high.
Reynolds was designated to return from injured reserve on November 13, but the Broncos opted to waive him rather than use one of their three remaining IR activations.
Denver has found a rhythm in their passing game over the last month with young wideouts Devaughn Vele and Marvin Mims. Rather than retain Reynolds in a reserve role, the Broncos waived him to give him a chance to earn more targets with another team.
Indeed, Reynolds could be in line for some immediate playing time in Jacksonville. Rookie wideout Brian Thomas leads the team with 46 catches for 765 yards, but the next-best healthy Jaguars receiver is Parker Washington with just 16 catches for 221 yards in 12 games. Reynolds nearly surpassed that production in his five games already this year, and his recent history with five different teams since 2020 suggests that he should be able to integrate into his new offense quickly.
The Jaguars will owe Reynolds just over $623K for the rest of the season, per the Denver Gazette’s Chris Thomasson, while the Broncos save the same amount against their salary cap. Reynolds is under contract for $3.99MM in base salary next year with an additional $510k in per-game roster bonuses, though none of that money is guaranteed, per OverTheCap. If he impresses his new team, he could stick around in Jacksonville in 2025, but the Jaguars could still cut him without any dead cap hit after this season.