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TheDuke007 · 08-13-2023, 02:20 PM

(08-10-2023, 08:53 PM)TheDuke007 Wrote: When I look at the potential 53 man roster, I see a lot of questions on defenses, but very few on offense. I know there are usually a couple of "surprise cuts", but I feel like the following are all likely to be on the team:

QB:

Lawrence
Beathard

WR:

Ridley
Kirk
Jones
Agnew
Washington

RB:

Etienne
Bigsby
Johnson
Hasty

TE:

Engram
Strange
Farrell
Prince

OL:

Robinson
Little
Harrison
Scherff
Fortner
Wells
Bartch
Shatley
Hance

That's 24 players. If you assume 25 offensive players, that leaves one spot at wide receiver. This one is a competition. Tim Jones is probably the favorite as the incumbent, but Austin is challenging and others such as Pryor or Cooks could be considered too.

The only other consideration is that Robinson is suspended for the first four games. My understanding is that he doesn't count as one of our 53 players for those games. That leaves one other roster spot open. This one is a real tossup to me. It could be a tackle but doesn't need to be considering we have Little and Harrison as starters with Wells as a backup and Hance also having tackle experience. The Jaguars could just keep someone at another position, but who? Is this Parish's opportunity to make the team? Do they keep an emergency quarterback in Rourke? We seem to have deep talent at wide receiver. Do we keep seven initially? The Jaguars could also just opt to keep an extra defensive player instead. This is a tough roster spot to call.

Any thoughts?

Did yesterday's game change anything here? I hate to put too much into one preseason game, but for me, I would make one change and that is Rourke instead of Beathard. If Rourke stinks up the next two games, maybe it switches back. However, if he plays even somewhat similar to what he did yesterday, he's not clearing waivers and won't be on the practice squad. If nothing else, they should keep him for his upside and the possibility of getting trade value for him down the road. The question is do they keep two or three quarterbacks? I'm inclined to think that they do keep three. That will be the final roster spot mentioned above. Of course, they will have to make a tough decision when Cam Robinson returns. My inclination would be to keep an extra offensive player and one less defensive player. Our defensive bubble players will clear waivers and can go on the practice squad. Our offensive bubble players likely won't.

As for the final wide receiver spot, I still think Tim Jones is the favorite. Although he appears on the stats sheet as having 0 receptions, he had a defender beat for a potential big play, but Beathard threw the ball out of bounds. The coaches aren't going to hold Beathard's bad throw against Jones. Jones also forced a fumble on special team. Bottom roster spots are often decided by special teams. As for the others, Austin struggled yesterday. Cooks impressed with 2 receptions for 42 yards. Pryor had 1 reception for 20 yards. A couple of guys not mentioned also made an impression with Harris having a 42 yard reception and Williams with a couple of catches for 23 yards. The competition continues.

I originally mentioned Parish. After writing the message, I read a bunch of negative things about his camp performance. He also barely played in yesterday's game. Unless something major changes, I now don't think he's even in serious competition for the 53 man roster. He's competing for a practice squad spot.

The only other player I'll mention is Cooper Hodges. He played most of the game. I wasn't focused on him, but seemed to play fine. Does he have a chance of making the roster? I still feel it is uphill for him. If Bartch and Shatley are healthy, Hodges would need to beat out Hance. For bottom roster spots, coaches like versatility. Hance can play any offensive line spot other than center. I know Hodges was a tackle in college and tell me if I'm wrong, but I believe his focus has been solely on guard in the NFL off-season. He has to really shine in the next two games to get that roster spot.