Giants Sign Jabaal Sheard Off Jaguars Practice Squad
One of the Jacksonville Jaguars' best players from Sunday's 34-16 loss will not suit up for the team next week ... or any other week, for that matter.
The Jaguars announced Tuesday that veteran defensive end Jabaal Sheard had been signed off the team's practice squad to the New York Giants' active roster, ending Sheard's tenure with the Jaguars after just one game.
Sheard recorded three pressures on just 15 snaps against the Lions, leading the Jaguars' porous defense in pressures in the Week 6 loss.
How did Sheard go from the Jaguars' game day roster to their practice squad and then to New York all in the span of a few days? It is due to the practice squad rules the NFL has put in place in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On game day, NFL teams can call up two players from the practice squad, bringing the game day roster from 46 players to 48 players. This is the standard practice squad elevation spot, and is how Sheard played with the Jaguars on Sunday. Players who are elevated to the roster are not subject to waivers when they go back to the practice squad, though they are still free to be signed off of practice squads by other teams just as they would be in any other situation.
While Sheard leaving the Jaguars hurts their defensive end depth a good bit, the loss of the 10th year veteran can at least be offset by the return of defensive end Josh Allen, who Doug Marrone said on Monday is looking like is on track to return from injury in Week 7.
The Jaguars will also need first-round rookie defensive end K'Lavon Chaisson to increase his impact on the defense. Chaisson has failed to generate consistent pressure at any point this season and has just four pressures with zero sacks over the last two weeks.
