Jaguars Claim OL Garrett McGhin Off Waivers

The Jacksonville Jaguars have added offensive lineman Garrett McGhin—6'6", 300 lb.—the club announced on Tuesday. The second year tackle was claimed off waivers from the Buffalo Bills. This follows Jaguars 2019 first round pick Jawaan Taylor being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

A Florida native, McGhin is from Tallahassee originally where he attended Florida State University High School. There, he was teammates with new Jaguars teammate, safety Ronnie Harrison.

McGhin played college ball at East Carolina University and according to a release from the Jaguars, "he started 11 games at right guard as a sophomore in 2016, played both right and left guard in 2017 and started all 12 games at right tackle as a senior in 2018."

He also played center during his time at ECU.

The Bills signed McGhin as an rookie free agent in 2019 after a three day open tryout. He spent the 2019 training camp and preseason in Buffalo. He spent just shy of three months as a free agent before being signed to the Carolina Panthers practice squad last November (Nov. 12, 2019). McGhin was promoted to the active roster on November 25 and played in two games with the Panthers before being placed on Injured Reserve.

After being waived by the Panthers in March of 2020, the Bills picked McGhin back up in April. He was waived by Buffalo on July 27 and signed by Jacksonville the next day, Tuesday, July 28.

The addition came the same afternoon that two Jaguars offensive linemen were placed on the newly created reserve/COVID-19 list. The Jaguars announced Tuesday that right tackle Jawaan Taylor—the team's second-round draft pick in the 2019 NFL Draft—along with first-year offensive lineman Ryan Pope had both been added to the list.

Having one's name on the COVID-19 list can be the result of a positive COVID test or as part of contact tracing if the player has been in contact with someone else who tested positive and therefore must quarantine for 10 days. Taylor was tested in initial rounds for veterans on Tuesday.

Taylor started 16 games and played every single offensive snap for the Jaguars last season, a year in which he was one of the league's best rookie offensive lineman and earned a place on the PFWA All-Rookie Team. The Jaguars traded up three spots in the second round to select Taylor with the No. 35 overall pick out of the University of Florida, making Taylor an instant starter as a rookie.

McGhin must go through COVID-19 testing this week with veterans before football activities begin next week.