5 Observations on the Jaguars’ First Wave of Cuts: Why the Tebow Move Had To Be Made
Teams throughout the NFL have kicked off the process of shrinking their roster down ahead of Week 1, with each team going from 90 players on the active roster to 85 on Tuesday afternoon.
Among the teams with hard decisions to make were the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have seen intense competition at nearly every single position group in the first training camp under head coach Urban Meyer and his staff.
The Jaguars waived five players Tuesday, with cornerback D.J. Daniel, wide receivers Tim Jones and Josh Imatorbhehe, defensive lineman Daniel Ross, and tight end Tim Tebow all being let go by the organization ahead of Tuesday's practice.
What does each move mean, and why did the Jaguars make them? We break it down below.
Waiving Tim Tebow is the only move the Jaguars could make
While some expressed surprise that Meyer released his long-time player and friend Tim Tebow in the first of what will be several waves of cuts, it ultimately isn't too surprising. Mostly because this was the only move Meyer could make after 14 training camp practices and one rough preseason performance from Tebow. The odds were always against the 34-year-old Tebow to make the roster due to him making the switch to tight end so late in his playing career, but Meyer would have been putting off the inevitable and likely lose some credibility if he continued to let Tebow hang on the roster following Saturday's 23-13 loss.
Tebow was always expected to look raw. The probability of the experiment panning out was never strong, but Meyer couldn't let Tebow give it much more of a go when he performed the way he did against the Browns. He ran laboring routes, was a below-average blocker, and the one target thrown his way was nearly intercepted after he tipped it upon contact. Couple this with the fact that Tebow didn't play any special teams snaps, and there was no way for Meyer could justify keeping the oldest and least impactful player on his team following the first wave of cuts.
The release of D.J. Daniel points to strong play from Straughter, Burns and Houston
D.J. Daniel was a productive and physical cornerback the Jaguars added as an undrafted free agent after April's draft, but he finds himself as the only player other than Tebow who was waived by the Jaguars without some kind of injury designation. This is in large because the Jaguars have a deep cornerback room in terms of backup depth options, with players like Corey Straughter (also an undrafted free agent), Jameson Houston and Lorenzo Burns (undrafted rookie) impressing at different points in camp.
All of these three players are also on the outside looking in when it comes to making the 53-man roster, but they have at least earned extra reps and another try in the preseason after the trio has made plays throughout camp. Burns has only been with the team for a week but he has produced several pass breakups in camp, while Straughter is one of the team's backup nickel cornerbacks and has shown good ball skills. Houston, who the Jaguars acquired in the Josiah Scott trade, had a strong practice on Tuesday, winning three different one-on-one drills.
Josh Imatorbhebhe could be a potential waiver add for other teams, even if injured
The biggest name the Jaguars released on Tuesday, other than Tebow, was undrafted rookie wide receiver Josh Imatorbhebhe. The Jaguars didn't have many options since Imatorbhebhe has missed the vast majority of camp with injuries and they need all the numbers they can get at wide receiver. But even with his injury, there could always be a chance other teams are interested considering his athletic skill set and ceiling.
Since the Jaguars released the athletic rookie with a waived/injured designation, Imatorbhebhe will still revert back to their injured reserve if no team claims him by 4 p.m. eastern on Wednesday. But Imatorbhebhe is the epitome of a low-risk, high reward height/weight/speed project with a staggering 46.5-inch vertical jump. Teams could see his tools and look at him as a potential stash player, so the Jaguars should consider themselves lucky if he is still on the roster at 4 p.m. tomorrow.
Tim Jones seems like an ideal IR stash
Another undrafted free agent receiver who has missed most of training camp with injury, Tim Jones was likely waived because the Jaguars need all the healthy receivers they can get right now. He showed up often with big grabs during the offseason and developed chemistry with Trevor Lawrence, but the potential slot option fell victim to the numbers game due to his injury.
Luckily for the Jaguars, the team gave Jones the same waived/injured designation as Imatorbhehe. If no team claims him on waivers by 4 p.m. on Wednesday, they get to stash him on the roster for a year and he gets another chance to crack the 53-man roster next year. And unlike Imatorbhebhe, Jones doesn't have any eye-popping measurables or major name recognition that would lead one to believe there is a strong likelihood of him getting claimed.
Daniel Ross impressed in camp and likely would have had a fighting chance at a roster spot if not for his injury
While Daniel Ross was never a lock to make the Jaguars' roster, I do feel as if he would have made it to the very final round of cuts if not for an ankle injury that forced Ross to exit Saturday's preseason game against the Browns. Ross will now go to injured reserve, but the injury still takes away a player from the depth chart who could have legitimately fought for snaps.
Ross had impressed throughout portions of camp, specifically as a pass-rusher. While much of the Jaguars' defensive line are hulking run defenders who win with power, Ross was one of the team's true athletic three-technique options, a type of defender the Jaguars were already short on. Ross could have gotten into a legit roster battle with Taven Bryan, but will now have to wait another year.
