Tyler Shatley

Jaguars Finalize 53-Man Roster

The Jaguars have unveiled their list of cuts and other roster moves which will bring the team to the 53-man limit ahead of today’s deadline. Here is the full breakdown:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Beathard’s inclusion in Jacksonville’s cuts comes after he suffered a groin injury in the team’s second preseason contest. He was unable to suit up for the Jaguars’ exhibition finale, and today’s move clears the way for Mac Jones to take on backup duties. The former Patriots first-rounder was dealt to his hometown team this offseason, but a competition had been ongoing between he and Beathard. Now, Jones will move forward as QB2 behind Trevor Lawrence.

Beathard will be free to sign with a new team, although he is of course unlikely to find a suitor until he returns to full health. Other veterans like Amos and Edmunds joined Jacksonville this offseason, but they too will now have to search for a new opportunity. Several of the players waived will likely find themselves on the practice squad shortly, but Perry not doing so could leave the Jags in need of QB depth especially if Beathard were to land with a new team.

In 2024, teams are allowed to designate two players to return from injured reserve without naming them to the initial 53-man roster. That is the case for both Robinson and Wingard. The former was selected in the fifth round of this year’s draft and will provide backfield depth when healthy, while the latter is recovering from a knee injury. Both Robinson and Wingard will miss at least the first four weeks of the campaign, and their activations will count toward Jacksonville’s limit of eight for the season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/19/24

Today’s minor transactions from around the league:

Jacksonville Jaguars

Seattle Seahawks

  • Invited to rookie minicamp: QB Kory Curtis

Shatley will continue his run as the Jaguars’ longest-tenured player with a new contract. The long-time Jacksonville sixth man on the offensive line has continued to play a big role into his 30’s. In the first seven seasons of his career, Shatley started 25 games as an injury fill-in or replacement starter. In the three seasons since he’s turned 30 years old, Shatley has 26 starts. He isn’t projected to be a starter in 2024, but he should continue to be the first man off the bench in situations of injury or ineffectiveness.

Curtis is a name that’s been around college football for a while. After spending two years backing up J.T. Barrett and Dwayne Haskins at Ohio State, Curtis transferred to Bryant University, where he started for two more seasons. Utilizing his redshirt season and his extra year of eligibility as a student during the COVID-19 pandemic, Curtis played two more seasons at Gannon University. Playing his final season with the Golden Knights in 2022, Curtis returns to the football world via a rookie minicamp invitation to Seattle.

Jaguars Lose G Ben Bartch For Season

The Jaguars will be without their starting left guard for the rest of the season. The team announced that Ben Bartch will miss the remainder of the campaign with a knee injury.

Bartch was placed on injured reserve yesterday. The lineman suffered a dislocated knee during Sunday’s loss to the Texans.

“My heart goes out to him,” coach Doug Pederson said (via John Oehser of the team’s website). “When he [Bartch] comes back next year, he’ll be ready to go.”

Bartch was a fourth-round pick by the Jaguars in 2020. He started only one of his 13 appearances during his rookie campaign, but he took on a larger role in 2021, finishing with 11 starts in 15 games. He retained the full-time starting LG gig heading into the 2022 campaign and started each of Jacksonville’s first five games. Pro Football Focus graded him as a middle-of-the-road guard, but he did earn a respectable pass-block grade.

Long-time Jaguars lineman Tyler Shatley will likely fill in at LG, with Walker Little or Cole Van Lanen taking over the veteran’s swing role. Shatley has seen time in 116 games throughout his career, including 17 games (eight starts) last year.

“Anytime you have veteran backups, swing guys that go multiple spots, it’s beneficial,” Pederson said. “Shatley’s one of those guys. Whether it’s guard or center, it’s just valuable to have.”

Jaguars Featuring Position Battles At RT, C

Although the Jaguars spent wildly in free agency, it is possible four of their primary five starters from last year’s offensive line reprise their roles in 2022. But competitions are revealing themselves ahead of training camp.

Tyler Shatley, the team’s longest-tenured player, will attempt to hold off third-round pick Luke Fortner at center, while John Reid of the Florida Times-Union notes three-year right tackle starter Jawaan Taylor is not a lock to keep his job. Walker Little, a 2021 second-round pick, looks to have a good chance to unseat the ex-Florida Gator.

Third-year blocker Ben Bartch and big-ticket free agency pickup Brandon Scherff are set to be Jacksonville’s first-string guards, with the recently extended Cam Robinson in place at left tackle. Taylor has played opposite Robinson throughout his career, being one of the NFL’s most durable players in that span. The 24-year-old right tackle has not missed a game, and the Jags have turned to the 2019 35th overall pick as a starter in every one of those contests.

Pro Football Focus viewed Taylor as a slightly better blocker in 2021 than he was in 2020, but it still graded the 6-foot-5 lineman as the Jags’ worst regular up front. Taylor’s 12 penalties led all O-linemen last season. Little played 225 offensive snaps as a rookie, working as the swingman behind Robinson and Taylor, but Reid views the Stanford product as the likely favorite to be Jacksonville’s 2022 right tackle. This would relegate Taylor to a swing role, representing bad timing for him on that front. As a 2023 free agent-to-be, Taylor has an opportunity to audition for other teams this season.

Little missed nearly two full seasons, suffering an ACL tear early in 2019 and opting out of the COVID-19-altered 2020 Pac-12 slate. PFF graded he and Robinson as middling blockers, though the latter obviously played far more snaps.

Shatley, 31, filled in for the injured (and now-retired Brandon Linder) frequently during the past two seasons, starting 18 games. The Jags made Fortner their only O-line pick this year. The Kentucky product made 36 straight starts, using his additional eligibility year to vault onto the Day 2 radar. A former UDFA, Shatley would become the Jags’ interior swingman again if beaten out for the Week 1 snapping gig.

Jaguars Looking At OL Ekwonu With Top Pick

We wrote a bit in January about NC State’s Ikem Ekwonu potentially being the best offensive lineman in the draft. Well, he certainly thinks so, as he told reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine Thursday that he’d “definitely deserve” to be drafted No. 1 overall, according to Darryl Slater of NJ.com

He’s not totally off base in his thinking. ESPN’s Mel Kiper mocked Ekwonu to Jacksonville in his latest mock draft just before the Combine. According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, many at the Combine, including ESPN’s Todd McShay, expected Ekwonu to blow up in Indianapolis.

There’s already been a bit of talk connecting Ekwonu to the Jaguars. General manager Trent Baalke has a tendency to prefer explosive linemen and Ekwonu demonstrated his explosiveness in field drills including an impressive sub-5.00 second 40-yard dash. Baalke and new head coach Doug Pederson will be looking to put together a group at offensive line that can protect former No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence and create holes for running backs James Robinson and Travis Etienne.

Jawaan Taylor is expected to compete with Walker Little for the right tackle job. Captain Brandon Linder should return to form at center after MCL and ankle injuries forced him to miss a large part of the 2021 NFL season. Andrew Norwell is expected to hit the free agent market and Cam Robinson could join him if the team decides not to utilize their franchise tag on Robinson for the second straight year. Veteran sixth-man Tyler Shatley was recently re-signed and Ben Bartch could help out at guard. So the versatility of Ekwonu could line him up as the perfect choice for Jacksonville’s current situation, where lots of question marks surround the depth chart. Even so, the Jaguars could also fall in love with Evan Neal, who is largely seen as the top pure tackle in the draft.

Still, the redshirt sophomore out of Raleigh is a young, talented prospect with the ability to dominate at tackle or guard. Even if he slips past Jacksonville at No. 1 overall, don’t expect him to be available after both New York teams get a chance to draft. Ekwonu will aim to be only the third Wolfpack offensive lineman in history to be picked in the first round, the highest-drafted Wolfpack prospect since Bradley Chubb in 2018, and, above that, the first top overall pick out of NC State since Mario Williams in 2006.

Jaguars Re-Sign OL Tyler Shatley

Tyler Shatley will be sticking around Jacksonville. The Jaguars have re-signed the offensive lineman, reports NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter).

It’s a two-year deal that can be worth up to $6.8MM, per Pelissero. The deal includes $2.35MM in guaranteed money.

Shatley’s versatility on the offensive line has made him a mainstay in Jacksonville. After going undrafted out of Clemson in 2014, the lineman caught on with the Jaguars, and he’s been with the team ever since.

The 30-year-0ld has seen time in 111 games (33 starts) during his eight years with the organization. That includes a 2021 campaign where he started eight of his 17 games, with the majority of his playing time coming at center. Considering his experience and ability to play multiple positions, the Jaguars made it a clear priority to re-sign the veteran. Now, he’ll be locked in through the 2023 campaign.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/12/21

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Atlanta Falcons

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

New York Giants

Contract Details: JPP, Boston, Waynes

A new batch of contract details to pass along, all via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter):

  • LB Jason Pierre-Paul, Buccaneers: two year extension. $25MM, including $20MM guaranteed. Salaries: $6.5MM, guaranteed (2020), $12.5MM, with $7.5MM guaranteed for injury (2021).
  • Tre Boston, Panthers: three years, $18MM. $8MM signing bonus. Salaries: $1.16MM (2020), $2.25MM (2021), $3.69MM (2022). $1MM third day 2020 roster bonus, $1MM third day 2022 roster bonus.
  • CB Trae Waynes, Bengals: three years, $42MM. $15MM signing bonus. Salaries: $5MM (2020), $8.4MM (2021), $10.4MM (2022).
  • DT Linval Joseph, Chargers: two years, $17MM. $8MM signing bonus. Salaries: $1.5MM (2020), $5.5MM (2021). $1MM annual playtime, sacks, Pro Bowl incentive.
  • OL Wes Schweitzer, Redskins: three years, $13.5MM. $4MM guaranteed, $3MM signing bonus. Salaries: $1MM guaranteed (2020), $3.49MM (2021), $4.49MM (2022).
  • LB A.J. Klein, Bills: three years, $18MM. $9.7MM guaranteed, $1.2MM signing bonus. Salaries: $2.2MM guaranteed (2020), $4.1MM, with $3.2MM guaranteed (2021), $4.2MM (2022).
  • OL Tyler Shatley, Jaguars: signed. One-year, $1.511MM deal with $600K guaranteed. $1.375MM salary for 2020.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/18/20

Here are the minor moves from the first day of official free agency. The list will be updated throughout Wednesday.

Carolina Panthers

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Jacksonville Jaguars

Miami Dolphins

Washington Redskins

Jaguars Re-Sign Tyler Shatley

Jacksonville is bringing back some depth on their offensive line. The Jaguars are re-signing interior lineman Tyler Shatley, the team announced on Twitter.

Shatley was drawing some interest on the open market, as he recently met with the Vikings. That visit ended without a deal, and Shatley ultimately opted to return home. A 2014 undrafted free agent from Clemson, Shatley has spent the first five years of his career with the Jags. Shatley is capable of playing both guard and center, so he’ll provide some valuable versatility.

Shatley has never been a full-time starter, but he’s been called upon often the past few years. He’s started at least four games in each of the past three seasons, including notching seven starts at center last year after Brandon Linder went down with a season-ending injury. Terms of the deal weren’t immediately announced, although it’s probably safe to assume the Jaguars didn’t have to break the bank for him.

Shatley received average grades from Pro Football Focus last year, grading out as their 26th-best center. He won’t go into 2019 as a starter, but if recent history is any indication, he’ll find himself in the lineup at some point.