Mitch Morse's Retirement Creates Massive Void For Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars need a new center after Mitch Morse announced his retirement.

Oct 20, 2024; London, United Kingdom; Jacksonville Jaguars center Mitch Morse (65) leaves the field after the game against the New England Patriots during an NFL International Series game at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter van den Berg-Imagn Images / Peter van den Berg-Imagn Images

The Jacksonville Jaguars' roster has changed in a big way for the second day in a row.

Veteran Jaguars center Mitch Morse announced his official retirement on Thursday, opening a massive void in the middle of the Jaguars' offense moving into free agency.

Morse joined the Jaguars last offseason on a two-year contract after being released by the Buffalo Bills. In Morse's lone season with the Jaguars, he started all 17 games and brought an upgrade to the center position after a failed starting tenure from Luke Fortner.

Morse isn't the only Jaguars starting offensive lineman likely moving on, either, which makes his departure all the more impactful.

With right guard Brandon Scherff also set to be a free agent next week, the Jaguars are losing a combined 20 years of NFL experience and 283 career starts. The Jaguars' didn't have a dominant offensive line by any means last year, but the interior group did do a good job in pass protection.

The Jaguars will now likely have to find two new offensive line starters in the first season of head Coach Liam Coen, general manager James Gladstone and EVP of football operations Tony Boselli all at the helm.

There are a few pieces along the offensive line the Jaguars can already work with in tackles Anton Harrison and Walker Little, along with left guard Ezra Cleveland. But as of today, it doesn't appear there are ready-made replacements for Morse and Scherff on the roster.

Fortner, who played for Coen at Kentucky, does not seem like a logical answer to losing Morse. The Jaguars went out and signed Morse to begin with due to Fortner's issues as a starter. Even though it was an old regime, Boselli was close to the franchise during Fortner's tenure.

This means the Jaguars will instead have to look toward the NFL Draft or free agency to rebuild their interior offensive line. Finding one new starter was set to be an achievable task in of itself, but it is clear now the Jaguars need to execute a greater rebuild of the unit.

The Jaguars have said countless times how devoted they are to investing in the trenches this offseason. Now they will have to prove it.

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