HEADLINES

Wayne Ruby

Jaguars Sign Terrell Edmunds, Tre Flowers

May 16th, 2024 at 1:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

Two veteran DBs will make mid-offseason arrivals in Jacksonville. The team reached agreements with safety Terrell Edmunds and cornerback Tre Flowers on Thursday, adding some secondary depth.

Flowers, 27, is following new Jags DC Ryan Nielsen from Atlanta. The veteran corner caught on with the Falcons, in what turned out to be Nielsen’s only Atlanta season, last May and worked as a part-time starter. Included in the October trade that sent Kevin Byard to Philadelphia, Edmunds also made a handful of starts in 2023.

This will mark a third straight year in which Flowers has signed a one-year contract. The former Seahawks draftee, who commandeered a starting spot from the jump despite being a fifth-round pick, signed a Bengals deal in 2022 and played in all 17 Falcons games last year. The Jags will give the 44-game starter a shot to vie for a role among a cornerback group that has seen some updates this offseason.

Following its Darious Williams release, the team added Ronald Darby. Although the Jags did not use a first-round pick on a corner — as rumors suggested they considered — they added pieces here in the third and fifth rounds (Jarrian Jones, Deantre Prince).

Edmunds, 27, has logged more starts as a pro. The former Steelers first-round pick worked as a regular starter from 2018-22 in Pittsburgh; last season’s four starts upped his career total to 79. The Eagles used Edmunds as a three-game starter, as they cut costs at safety by letting C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Marcus Epps walk in free agency, but included him in the pre-deadline trade that brought Byard over from the Titans. Edmunds made one start in Tennessee but played in nine games with his third NFL employer.

Operating as Minkah Fitzpatrick‘s sidekick from 2019-22, Edmunds graded as a top-40 safety (per Pro Football Focus) in 2022 and landed in the top 25 two seasons prior. Edmunds stands to have a clearer path to playing time, as the Jaguars moved on from three-year safety starter Rayshawn Jenkins and did not replace him this offseason. The team still rosters starter Andre Cisco and role player Andrew Wingard (26 career starts), but one of the team’s offseason questions involves who will start opposite Cisco.

PFF has never viewed Flowers as an upper-echelon corner, helping explain his April and May contract agreements. Both players have proven durable. Between the 2018 draftees’ 12 NFL seasons, only Flowers’ 2020 campaign (in which he missed four games) involved more than two missed games. Flowers also has changed teams in-season, being waived by the Seahawks before catching on with the Bengals — during their Super Bowl LVI-qualifying slate — and operating as a key backup.

To make room on their 90-man offseason roster, the Jaguars waived linebacker Dequan Jackson and waived wide receiver Wayne Ruby with an injury designation.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/15/24

May 15th, 2024 at 8:16pm CST by Ely Allen

Wednesday’s minor NFL moves:

Atlanta Falcons:

Denver Broncos

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Signed: Ty Summers
  • Waived with injury designation: WR Wayne Ruby

Minnesota Vikings

Lynch sat on the free agent market for quite some time, but his patience pays off. He’ll return to Minnesota for his fourth season with the team. He’s started three games for the Vikings in 28 game appearances over the last two years.

Allen, a part of Denver’s 13-man undrafted free agent class, sees a short tenure with the Broncos come to an end. Once again, he’ll be free to sign with anyone else in the NFL who may have interest.

Jaguars Add 13 UDFAs

May 1st, 2024 at 11:48am CST by Sam Robinson

Now in Year 3, the Doug Pederson-Trent Baalke partnership has most of its offseason roster in place. The Jaguars agreed to terms with 13 UDFAs. Here is the Jacksonville post-draft group:

A host of small-school options populate the Jags’ list. Two of the four players who do hail from Power 5 programs — Bowman and Carter — respectively transferred from Maine and Western Michigan. Jones spent six years at Oregon, starting 32 games. The 340-pound blocker’s 14-game run at right guard last season drew first-team All-Pac-12 acclaim. Proctor started 20 games for the Buckeyes and participated at the Combine this year. Between his signing bonus and salary guarantee, Proctor is locked into $215K, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets.

Multiple teams offered Parker around $200K guaranteed, Wilson adds, noting the Jaguars secured his commitment for that amount. Parker transferred from Arkansas in 2022 and earned first-team All-Sun Belt acclaim last season, leading Appalachian State with 114 tackles. The Jags did not draft a linebacker but still roster 2022 third-rounder Chad Muma and 2023 fourth-rounder Ventrell Miller behind starters Foyesade Oluokun and Devin Lloyd.

Ruby will attempt to go from Division III to the NFL; he will do so after being the rare college player to record three 1,000-yard receiving seasons. Ruby’s 2022 at the D-III powerhouse jumps out; the 190-pound wideout totaled 105 receptions for 1,785 yards and 30 touchdown receptions. The 30 TDs were one shy of a D-III record. He followed that up with a second first-team All-American honor last season. Cephus also topped 1,100 yards last season, totaling 1,151 and 10 TDs — en route to first-team All-Conference USA honors — in 2023.

The Jags devoted nearly half their UDFA class to receiver, doing so despite adding Gabe Davis, Devin Duvernay and first-rounder Brian Thomas Jr. this offseason. The Jags also have 2023 sixth-round pick Parker Washington rostered. Competition for practice squad jobs figures to include this batch of UDFAs.