Jaguars Sign Veteran Edge Defender Aaron Lynch

The seventh-year veteran defender has recorded 20 career sacks since being selected in the fifth round in 2014.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are continuing to add to their depth on the defensive side of the ball, as the team announced Tuesday it had signed defensive end/outside linebacker Aaron Lynch.

Lynch, a seventh-year veteran, was drafted in the fifth-round (No. 150 overall) by the San Francisco 49ers in 2014. At the time, current Jaguars director of player personnel Trent Baalke was the 49ers' general manager. 

With the additions of Lynch and running back Chris Thompson last week, the Jaguars made corresponding moves to release running back Jeremy McNichols and defensive end Chuck Harris. The Jaguars' roster now sits at exactly 90 players.

In 2019, Lynch played in all 16 games with the Chicago Bears and recorded six tackles, 2.0 sacks and two passes defensed. Before spending the last two seasons with the Bears, Lynch played four seasons for the 49ers from 2014-17. In 2015, he started 13 games and registered career highs in tackles (38), sacks (6.5) and tackles for loss (13). In his first two seasons, he recorded 12.5 sacks. He has recorded 7.5 sacks in the four seasons since.

"Collegiately, Lynch played in 24 games (16 starts) at South Florida and totaled 63 tackles, 11.5 sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. In 2013, he earned first-team All-AAC honors after playing in 12 games (10 starts) and recording 30 tackles, 6.0 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss," the Jaguars said in a release. "He attended Island Coast (Cape Coral, Fla.) High School and earned first-team all-state honors and was named to the Florida Times-Union Super 75 squad as a senior."

Lynch is the third addition they have made to their edge depth this offseason. In March, they signed veteran defensive end/outside linebacker Cassius Marsh, and in the first round of this year's NFL Draft, they selected LSU edge defender K'Lavon Chaisson with the No. 20 overall pick. 

These players join second-year defensive end Josh Allen and fifth-year defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. In 2019, Allen and Ngakoue combined for 18.5 sacks and six forced fumbles, as Allen led all rookies in sacks with 10.5, which also set a Jaguars' rookie record. 

While Ngakoue has stated numerous times he no longer wishes to play for the Jaguars, the team has yet to facilitate a trade for the Pro Bowl pass-rusher. The addition of Lynch shouldn't have much, if any, impact on Ngakoue's status with the team.