The Jacksonville Jaguars are giving their quarterback a long-term commitment while also doing some housework.
According to the team’s social media, kicker Joey Slye and wide receiver Zay Jones are being released. Trevor Lawrence’s fifth-year option is also being picked up by the Jaguars.
Jones and Slye had significant roles in the 2023 NFL season. Jones saw a lot of action in the Jaguars’ passing game. He had 823 receiving yards and 82 receptions by the end of the 2023 season. In terms of receiving yards and receptions, he had seasons that were career highs.
Jones was arrested in 2023 and is currently facing legal issues. After he argued with his mother’s child, he was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery. ESPN reports that the Florida Attorney General’s office withdrew the case. Prior to joining the north Florida team, he also played for the Buffalo Bills and the Oakland/Las Vegas
Raiders.
Slye kicked for the Washington Commanders during a busy season in 2023. He made 19 of the team’s 24 field goals, including a 61-yarder. Throughout the season, he also completed 32 of 35 extra point tries. Slye signed a one-year contract with the Jaguars in March, so he was hardly even a part of the team. Slye has an extensive NFL career that he spent with the San Francisco 49ers, Houston Texans, Carolina Panthers, and Commanders. It’s possible that the Jaguars’ selection of a kicker in the sixth round of this year’s NFL Draft influenced the choice.
The team announced the cuts while reiterating its dedication to quarterback Trevor Lawrence. With regard to the gunslinger, the Jaguars are using their fifth-year option. In the last three seasons, Lawrence has started fifty games for Jacksonville, and in 2022, he guided the team to the postseason. That season, he also made an appearance in the Pro Bowl. Lawrence has thrown for 58 touchdowns and 39 interceptions in his brief but significant career. He had two seasons with 4,000 yards passing.
Not every player on the team feels that way about Lawrence. Additionally, the team selected running back Travis Etienne Jr.’s fifth-year option. With 1,008 rushing yards at the end of the season in 2023, the runner had an incredible year. He carried 267 times for 11 touchdowns. Over the course of his career, Etienne has scored 16 touchdowns and gained over 2,000 yards through rushes. Lawrence and Etienne were both chosen in the NFL Draft of 2021.
Jacksonville is attempting to return to the postseason following a poor 2023 campaign that resulted in the team missing out on the AFC playoffs. Lawrence endured a shoulder ailment that hindered him in the last several weeks of the season, and the club finished 9–8. The Jaguars haven’t won a Super Bowl, therefore their supporters are hankering after a title.
