The Jaguars are hosting veteran cornerback Jerry Jacobs on a free agent visit, Aaron Wilson of KPRC reports.
The Lions did not tender Jacobs this offseason, making him a free agent.
He made the roster in 2021 as an undrafted rookie and started at least eight games each of his three seasons with the Lions, including 12 in 2023.
Jacobs appeared in 40 games in Detroit, with 29 starts, and totaled 131 tackles, four interceptions and 23 passes defended. Three of his interceptions came last season.
The Lions overhauled the position this offseason, training with the Bucs for Carlton Davis, signing Amik Robertson in free agency and drafting Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw Jr.
The Jaguars announced over the weekend that they are exercising their fifth-year options on the contracts of quarterback Trevor Lawrence and running back Travis Etienne, but they did not make an announcement about a third option.
That’s the one they hold on the contract of quarterback Mac Jones after acquiring him in a trade with the Patriots earlier this year. Jones will be backing Lawrence up and picking up the option for 2025 would guarantee him the same salary of $25.664 million that Lawrence is now in line to make.
Given the different roles the two players have on the team, it comes as no surprise that Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com reports that the Jaguars will pass on Jones’s option.
That puts Jones on track to become a free agent in 2025, but it remains to be seen if there will be any chance for him to get playing time that would allow him to make the case for another chance as a starter.
The Jaguars announced 13 agreements with undrafted free agents on Tuesday.
Five wide receivers are part of the group. The Jaguars drafted Brian Thomas Jr. in the first round last Thursday and they released Zay Jones on Tuesday.
UTSA’s Joshua Cephus, Albany’s Brevin Easton, Mount Union’s Wayne Ruby, Memphis’ Joseph Scates, and Western Carolina’s David White Jr. are the incoming wideouts. White grew up in Jacksonville before moving on to college.
The Jaguars also agreed to terms with Rutgers tight end Shawn Bowman, Indiana defensive end Andre Carter, Villanova running back Jalen Jackson, Oregon guard Steven Jones, Ohio State safety Josh Proctor, South Alabama linebacker Trey Kiser, Akron running back Lorenzo Lingard, and Appalachian State linebacker Andrew Parker Jr.
The Jaguars took Brian Thomas Jr. in the first round of the draft last week and his arrival helped push an older wide receiver off the roster.
Jacksonville announced that they have released Zay Jones on Tuesday. Kicker Joey Slye was also let go.
Jones spent the last two seasons with the Jaguars, but was limited to nine appearances in 2023. He had 34 catches for 321 yards and two touchdowns in that action and his departure leaves Christian Kirk, Gabe Davis, Devin Duvernay, and Parker Washington as the receivers alongside Thomas.
The Jaguars drafted kicker Cam Little in the sixth round and they have Riley Patterson on the roster, so Slye will look for another spot to continue his NFL career.
It looks like first-round pick Brian Thomas Jr. won’t be the only former LSU wide receiver taking part in the Jaguars’ rookie minicamp.
The agents for veteran wideout Jarvis Landry told NFL Media that their client is expected to take part in the camp on a tryout basis.
Landry’s last NFL action came with the Saints during the 2022 season. He had 25 catches for 272 yards and a touchdown in nine games for New Orleans, but ended the year on injured reserve after hurting his ankle. He never signed with anyone in 2023, but, per the report from his agents, is now back to full health.
Landry played four seasons with the Dolphins and four seasons with the Browns before his brief stint with the Saints. He has 713 catches for 7,870 yards and 38 touchdowns for his career.
Jaguars General Manager Trent Baalke said the team will exercise the fifth-year options on the contracts for quarterback Trevor Lawrence and running back Travis Etienne.
Lawrence’s is worth $25.7 million for 2025 and Etienne’s is $6.1 million.
The Jaguars made Lawrence the No. 1 overall pick in 2021, and in three seasons, he has a 20-30 record as a starting quarterback with a Pro Bowl appearance in 2022. He has completed 63.8 percent of his passes for 11,770 yards with 58 touchdowns and 39 interceptions.
Etienne, the 25th overall pick in 2021, missed his rookie season but has back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons since. He has 487 career carries for 2,133 yards and 16 touchdowns, while catching 93 passes for 792 yards and a touchdown.
The Jaguars also hold the fifth-year option on Mac Jones’ contract, which they surely will decline. That means he will become a free agent after this season.
Arkansas’ Cam Little became the third kicker selected in the sixth round, following Alabama’s Will Reichard and Stanford’s Joshua Karty.
The Jaguars selected Little with the 212th overall pick after the Vikings took Reichard at 203 and the Rams took Karty at 209.
Brandon McManus made only 30-of-37 field goals and all 35 extra points last season for Jacksonville. Riley Patterson and Joey Slye are the current kickers on the team’s roster.
Little went 53-of-64 on his field goal tries in three seasons kicking for the Hogs, and he made all 129 extra points. In 2023, Little was 20-of-24 on field goals.
Tony Khan, the son of Jaguars owner Shad Khan and presumptive eventual owner of the team, has been working for the past several years to turn AEW into a major pro wrestling league.
Recently, Tony Khan got some phoney-baloney injury in the ring, and now he’s wearing a neck brace like a guest star who got rear-ended by one of the main characters in a sitcom.
So Tony Khan was on NFL Network before the draft, neck brace and all. And he decided to drop a deuce on the gold standard of pro wrestling, the WWE.
“We’re up against a really evil juggernaut,” Khan said, via Awful Announcing. “WWE is our competitor. that’s who we’re facing. AEW is like the Pepsi of pro wrestling. WWE is like the Harvey Weinstein of pro wrestling.” (That’s an obvious reference to allegations against former WWE owner Vince McMahon, who has left the operation after serious sexual misconduct allegations were made against him.)
AEW needs whatever buzz Khan can create, even if the means are questionable. The ratings are down for AEW. Khan is trying to give them a boost; he added during the appearance on NFL Network that more information on his prognosis will be available on the next AEW show.
Of course it will. It’s a storyline. That’s how pro wrestling works. And Khan is trying to salvage AEW before it’s too late — even if it means making a Harvey Weinstein reference.
The Jaguars haver drafted another weapon for Trevor Lawrence.
With the 23rd overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, Jacksonville has selected LSU wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr.
Thomas is the fourth receiver off the board, after Marvin Harrison, Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze. It’s a good receiver class, and the Jaguars think they got a player who can contribute to their offense right away.
The 23rd pick was from the Browns to the Texans in the Deshaun Watson trade, then traded from the Texans to the Vikings earlier this offseason, and finally traded from the Vikings to the Jaguars when Minnesota moved up earlier tonight. Pick 23 settles in with Thomas in Jacksonville.
The Vikings have traded up to No. 17 overall to select former Alabama edge rusher Dallas Turner.
Turner, 21, was highly regarded as one of the best edge rushers in this year’s draft. He was a consensus All-American at Alabama in 2023, registering 11.0 sacks with 15.5 tackles for loss.
He was a first-team All-SEC selection after leading the conference in sacks. He also led the Crimson Tide in tackles for loss.
Overall, Turner played 42 games with 27 starts in three seasons at Alabama. He finished his career with 23.5 sacks with 33.5 tackles for loss.
He now is the second first-round pick for the Vikings in this draft after the club selected quarterback J.J. McCarthy at No. 10 overall.
Jacksonville originally had the selection. Per multiple reports, the Vikings received No. 17 overall and the Jaguars received No. 23 overall, No. 167 overall in the fifth round, a 2025 third-round pick, and a 2025 fourth-round pick.