Several gaps were addressed by the Jacksonville Jaguars during free agency. But if they want to recover from a dismal 2023 campaign, they’ll need to keep piling up talent in the NFL Draft. The drawback of adding more players is that the Jags will have to open up a few positions on the roster in order to accommodate them.
Naturally, Josh Allen and Trevor Lawrence won’t be leaving Jacksonville. Rather, anticipate that players who might struggle to make the 53-man roster will have their relationships with the front office severed. I can think of these four.
4. Joey Slye, kicker
Brandon McManus was done for the Jaguars. They signed him in the hopes that he would be a better player than Riley Patterson last year, but he fell short of their expectations. Despite having a great start, he faltered in the latter stages.
The coaching staff had stopped believing in McManus by the end of 2023. They never tried to get him back after he became a free agent. Rather, they inked a deal with Wil Lutz and re-signed Patterson early in the summer.
But before Lutz could sign his contract, he withdrew, and the Jaguars were left starting from nothing. They signed Joey Slye because they didn’t have any better options, and he played for the Washington Commanders in 2023.
Slye isn’t all that superior to McManus. You could even argue that he’s a downgrade, actually. He made 3-of-5 field goals of 50 yards or more and completed 79.2 percent of his attempts in the previous season. Those are respectable but by no means excellent figures. In training camp, he’ll likely face up against Patterson, but he also has no guarantee of making the squad.
Patterson has been released twice since being traded to the Detroit Lions in the previous season. He was most likely brought back by Jacksonville because they wanted a familiar face at kicker in case they couldn’t find a better option. It can be discovered later on in the draft or later on. Heck, they might be holding off on pursuing Jake Bates until the 2024 United Football League season concludes.
