Jaguars Release John Brown From Practice Squad
The Jacksonville Jaguars continued to shake up their receiver depth on Monday, releasing veteran John Brown from the practice squad after just two games on the active roster.
Brown's time in Jacksonville was uneventful, with the veteran wideout playing just seven snaps over the last two weeks -- three in Week 11 and four in Week 12. Brown saw an early-game target in each contest but did not catch either pass.
Brown is the latest in a long line of speed threats that haven't worked out for the Jaguars in 2021, following the likes of other released wideouts such as Phillip Dorsett and Tyron Johnson. Together, the three combined for 54 snaps, eight targets, two catches and 16 yards in eight games.
Jacksonville's deep passing game has been an issue all year long, but Brown never turned out to be the in-season solution the Jaguars were hoping for, even after Jamal Agnew's injury. Instead, the Jaguars have pivoted to moving Laviska Shenault to the slot and Laquon Treadwell outside, while also keeping Tavon Austin as their No. 4 receiver. Each Treadwell and Austin made a big impact in Sunday's 21-14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, with Austin catching his first touchdown of the year.
"Then on offense we moved the ball a little bit, just no big plays. Just none. And then all of a sudden we started getting some," Urban Meyer said after the game.
"Offensive football is a big-play -- not many teams can drive the length of a field without a hit here and there, and we had some hits and scored a couple times. I was really proud of Tavon [Austin] who's been in this league a long time. I love who he is and what he stands for, and he competes. Same with [Laquon] Treadwell. These guys are starting for the Jaguars now and they're competing their tails off."
The Jaguars promoted Brown from the practice squad to the active roster in each of the last two weeks. Now, the Jaguars can either go into games with their normal five receivers -- which also now consists of return man Jaydon Mickens, who didn't play an offensive snap on Sunday -- or they can elevate practice squad receivers such as Jeff Cotton Jr. or Josh Hammond.
To this point, the Jaguars' receiver room has been one of the team's most struggling units. Injuries to Agnew and DJ Chark have played a role, but so have mistakes on the field and failed experiments such as John Brown.
"We have to fix it. Am I concerned? Sure. I’m concerned about everything, but that’s a reality of the game of football. The pass game part is about consistency and timing," Meyer said on Monday.
"When you have, like I said to no one’s fault, when you have two guys go down and you’re just kind of rolling through guys, it’s a little bit more difficult on a quarterback. So yeah, it’s a problem. But I thought yesterday though just throw and catch [was] decent. We had a couple [drops] but throw and catch was decent.”
