Jaguars Place Najee Goode on Injured Reserve, Sign Marcus Gilchrist
The Jacksonville Jaguars have made some more roster moves during the final stretch of the 2019 season, placing veteran linebacker Najee Goode on injured reserve with a knee injury and signing free agent safety Marcus Gilchrist, an eight-year veteran, to the active roster on Tuesday.
Goode started four games for Jacksonville's defense at weakside linebacker and appeared in 10 games overall, serving as the team's primary backup at linebacker in each game that he didn't start. He recorded 24 tackles, one tackle for loss, and one sack in his first season as a Jaguar.
Goode did not start in Week 12 against the Tennessee Titans but was active. Rookie linebacker Quincy Williams started in his place.
Second-year strong safety Ronnie Harrison suffered a concussion vs. the Titans and exited the game, so the Gilchrist signing may be an indication that Jacksonville knows it needs to bolster its safety depth if Harrison is out for an extended period of time. Undrafted rookie Andrew Wingard played in Harrison's place Sunday.
"Gilchrist, 5-10, 200, has appeared in 123 career games with 98 starts and has totaled 482 tackles (368 solo), 39 passes defensed, 14 INTs, five forced fumbles and 4.0 sacks during his eight-year NFL career," the Jaguars said in a release.
"Gilchrist spent the 2011-14 seasons with the Chargers after being drafted by San Diego in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He then went to the New York Jets for two seasons (2015-16) before one-year stints with the Houston Texans in 2017 and the Oakland Raiders in 2018."
The Jaguars also signed safety Doug Middleton to the practice squad, and to make room, released rookie defensive back Jordan Brown.
"Middleton, 6-0, 210, has appeared in 12 career games after originally entering the league as an undrafted free agent with the New York Jets in 2016," the Jaguars said. "He spent the majority of his rookie season on the Jets’ practice squad before being promoted to the active roster for the final four games of the season. After spending the 2018 season on the Jets’ reserve/injured list, Middleton appeared in seven games, making four starts, during the 2018 season. After signing with Miami, he appeared in one game this season before going on the practice squad and was released by the Dolphins on Nov. 12."
