Jaguars Surprisingly Release Adam Gotsis, Claim Another Linebacker in Caleb Johnson
The Jaguars have made a series of interesting decisions in recent days, extending the streak on Thursday by making a surprising release of defensive lineman Adam Gotsis and claiming inside linebacker Caleb Johnson.
The Jaguars entered Thursday with an already incredibly thin defensive line room. They technically had six defensive linemen counting Gotsis, but two of those linemen are situation pass-rushers in Dawuane Smoot and Arden Key who are not exactly 3-4 interior linemen.
Now, the Jaguars just have five: Smoot, Key, starting nose tackle DaVon Hamilton and starting defensive ends Roy Robertson-Harris and Foley Fatukasi. That is it. Among that group, only Hamilton and Fatukasi are listed over 300 pounds, and only Hamilton, Fatukasi and Robertson-Harris are listed over 265 pounds. In other words, it is a very thin and light defensive line room.
“When you look around this league and what offenses are doing, they are playing a lot of 11 personnel. Some of the 12 personnel – that second guy is built more like a receiver," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said on Tuesday when asked about concerns over the defensive line depth.
"Teams are even in big nickel or nickel defense a lot. There are not a ton of reps or snaps during a game for big guys like that. I like the versatility that we have on the defensive front with Foley [Fatukasi] and Roy [Robertson-Harris]. There are a lot of combinations that can take the place if DaVon has to come out. I am happy where we are, I love that group and I’m excited for them to play.”
The Jaguars have now claimed two inside linebackers in the last two days with Johnson and former Green Bay Packers linebacker Ty Summers. They join Foyesade Oluokun, Devin Lloyd, Chad Muma, and Shaquille Quarterman, which gives the Jaguars six inside linebackers -- 11% of their current 53-man roster.
Right now inside, and then a special teams player for us. Probably in that Quarterman mold a little bit but has that athleticism, though, and for us at that position, it’s special teams value, what he’s shown, what he’s done," Pederson said on Thursday about Summers. "Not an overly big guy but a tough guy, smart guy, and that’s what you want.”
Johnson signed with the Chicago Bears as a rookie free agent in 2021 and played in 14 games for Chicago as a rookie, tallying four special teams tackles. He attended Houston Baptist and became the first player in their football program’s history to sign with an NFL team. Johnson ranks first all-time in school history with seven fumble recoveries, second with 10.0 sacks and third with 278 career tackles.
Gotsis has spent the last two seasons with the Jaguars, appearing in 32 games and recording three sacks, 10 tackles for loss, one forced fumble, and 10 quarterback hits.
Gotsis was originally selected in the second round (63rd overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Broncos and his career totals with Denver (2016-19) include 109 tackles, 13 passes defensed, 5.0 sacks and two forced fumbles.
