Category: Jaguars news

Misdemeanor charges against Jaguars CB Chris Claybrooks dropped

Charges from an April arrest of Jaguars cornerback Chris Claybrooks were dropped by prosecutors on Monday.

Misdemeanor charges for domestic assault with bodily injury and vandalism filed against Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Chris Claybrooks were dropped by prosecutors in Davidson County, Tenn. on Monday after a settlement was reached.

Claybrooks, 25, was arrested in Nashville last month after an alleged dispute at a movie theater where he was accused of grabbing a phone from a woman who told police she was his ex-girlfriend. Claybrooks allegedly destroyed the phone and left the woman with bruises on her hand after taking it.

Neither the Davidson County District Attorney’s office nor Claybrooks’ lawyer have responded to requests for comment after the charges were dismissed Monday, according to TMZ.

Last month, the Jaguars said they were aware of the arrest, but offered no further comment at the time.

Claybrooks was picked by the Jaguars in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL draft and has become a key contributor on special teams. In three years with the team, Claybrooks has recorded 81 tackles.

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Jaguars sign S Latavious Brini, waive rookie DL Jayson Ademilola

Former Arkansas and Georgia safety Latavious Brini earned a roster spot after a tryout at the Jaguars’ rookie minicamp.

The Jacksonville Jaguars announced the additions of safety Latavious Brini and wide receiver Jacob Harris on Monday. To make room on the roster, the Jaguars cut ties with rookie defensive lineman Jayson Ademilola, who signed with the team shortly after the 2023 NFL draft.

Both Brini and Harris participated in the Jaguars’ rookie minicamp over the weekend on a tryout basis. News broke earlier in the day Monday that Harris, who previously spent two years with the Los Angeles Rams, was signing with the Jaguars.

Brini spent the 2022 season with Arkansas after transferring from Georgia. The 6’2, 215-pound defensive back recorded four tackles for loss, one interception, two fumble recoveries, and a forced fumble in his only season with the Razorbacks.

Ademilola, a former Notre Dame defensive tackle, was one of 10 undrafted players signed by the Jaguars earlier this month.

Following the moves, the Jaguars are at the 90-player roster limit and have a 91st player with Ayo Oyelola earning an exemption as part NFL’s International Pathway Program.

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Jaguars could stay at TIAA Bank Field with 4-year renovation

Jaguars president Mark Lamping said the team could avoid a temporary relocation with a lengthier, more expensive renovation.

The logistics of a potential renovation of TIAA Bank Field were put under the microscope last week when Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry told 1010XL that the Jaguars will need to find another place to play for two years during the project.

Jaguars president Mark Lamping says that assertion is premature and he offered an alternative in an interview with Gene Frenette of the Florida Times-Union.

Another option, also at a more expensive price tag, would be for the TIAA Bank Field renovation to take place over four years without the team going anywhere.

But there’s a caveat to that, too. It would mean a start-stop construction process that Lamping says would also increase the stadium deal by over $100 million. It’s another reminder this stadium issue is an onion with a lot of layers.

Last week, the Times-Union reported that the Jaguars have broached the subject of a temporary relocation in conversations with the University of Florida and University of North Florida.

Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla. boasts a capacity of 88,548, but is more than 70 miles from TIAA Bank Field. While UNF’s Hodges Stadium is significantly closer, it seats just 9,400 fans.

Lamping said bringing Hodges Stadium up to NFL standards would cost “in excess of $100 million.”

“Whether you build a new stadium or renovate an old one, it’s going to result in a disruption for the team and its fans,” Lamping told the Times-Union. “The degree of disruption we’ll experience in Jacksonville with a stadium renovation and how many seasons will be impacted is a function of the scale of the renovation, the cost and the renovation schedule. The Jaguars are committed to a path that results in the least disruption to the team, our fans and the community.”

Negotiations between the Jaguars and the City of Jacksonville regarding a stadium renovation are expected to ramp up after a new mayor takes office in July.

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Jaguars to sign ex-Rams WR Jacob Harris after minicamp tryout

Former Rams fourth-round pick Jacob Harris is joining the Jaguars after impressing in a minicamp tryout.

Former Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Jacob Harris joined the Jacksonville Jaguars’ rookie minicamp over the weekend for a tryout and impressed enough to earn a contract with the team, according to his agent Evan Brennan.

Harris was the Rams’ fourth-round pick in 2021 after playing collegiately at UCF. His rookie year ended with a season-ending knee injury and he spent most of his second NFL season bouncing between the active roster and the practice squad.

In two years with Los Angeles, Harris — who was also listed as a tight end, at times — caught only one pass for six yards. While he was only on the field for 16 offensive snaps, Harris took 246 special teams snaps.

The Jaguars have a crowded depth chart at wide receiver with four roster spots all but guaranteed to Calvin Ridley, Christian Kirk, Zay Jones, and Jamal Agnew. After that quartet, there will be several young players competing for roster spots, including Parker Washington, Tim Jones, and Kevin Austin Jr.

Tight end is lacking for depth, though. Both Dan Arnold and Chris Manhertz left in free agency, and the void was filled with second-round draft pick Brenton Strange.

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Jaguars sign Anton Harrison to finish deals for 2023 draft class

The Jaguars’ entire 2023 draft class is now under contract.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have their entire 2023 NFL draft class under contract after making the final two additions, Anton Harrison and Tyler Lacy, official Sunday morning.

The final contract announced was for Harrison, the team’s first-round pick.

Jacksonville got 10 from its 13-player draft class signed Friday and added second-round pick Brenton Strange on Saturday morning. Lacy’s contract was announced just a few minutes before Harrison’s.

Details of the contracts weren’t announced, but the NFL and NFL Players Association’s collective bargaining agreement largely dictates the terms of rookie deals. Harrison’s deal was a four-year deal projected to be worth about $13.2 million with a signing bonus around $6.6 million. The value of a fifth-year team option that’s attached to the contract of first rounders is impacted by play time and Pro Bowl appearances.

Harrison was the fourth offensive lineman ever drafted in the first round by Jacksonville, joining Tony Boselli, Eugene Monroe, and Luke Joeckel. Earlier this month, Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said that Harrison will begin his NFL career at right tackle.

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Texans reportedly sign ex-Jaguars CB Shaquill Griffin to 1-year deal

Shaquill Griffin is reportedly staying in the AFC South.

Former Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Shaquill Griffin, who was released by the team earlier this year, will stay in the AFC South after joining the Houston Texans on a one-year deal, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Griffin, 27, began his career with the Seattle Seahawks and earned Pro Bowl honors in 2019. The Jaguars made Griffin their prized addition of the 2021 offseason, signing the cornerback to a three-year, $40 million deal.

After earning a respectable 72.0 grade from Pro Football Focus in his first year in Jacksonville, Griffin struggled in the first month of the 2022 season. He was credited with allowing three touchdowns in five games — including a game-winner against the Indianapolis Colts — before landing on injured reserve with a back injury. Griffin never returned and was released in March to clear more than $13.1 million in salary cap space.

In Houston, Griffin will join a secondary that features 2022 top five draft pick Derek Stingley as well as veterans Steven Nelson and Darius Phillips.

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Jaguars rookie LB Ventrell Miller not fully cleared for minicamp

Ventrell Miller is on the field at rookie minicamp, but coach Doug Pederson says he isn’t ready yet to take full-speed reps.

Jacksonville Jaguars coaches are getting to see the team’s 2023 NFL draft picks in action for the first time this weekend at a rookie minicamp. But fourth-round pick Ventrell Miller isn’t quite ready to participate fully just a few months after undergoing foot surgery.

On the day Miller was drafted, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport revealed that the former Florida linebacker played almost all of the 2022 season with a Jones fracture — a break to the fifth metatarsal bone on the outside of the foot — and had it repaired shortly after his collegiate career ended.

“I’m not going to put a timetable on him,” Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said of Miller in a Friday press conference. “This is the first time our trainers and our doctors have got their hands on him. We’ll put a plan together, beginning this weekend.

“I know he can do some things, he just can’t do a lot of full-speed work right now. It’s hard to say. I don’t want to put him in a box either, I just want to let our medical team take over from here.”

While Miller was limited in the practice session Friday, he was still a participant in several drills with his new teammates.

Miller earned SEC Player of the Week honors twice during the 2020 season before missing most of the 2021 season due to injury and playing through his foot fracture in 2022.

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Jaguars announce contracts for 10 of their 13 draft picks

Only three draftees are unsigned after the Jaguars announced a flurry of contracts Friday.

The Jacksonville Jaguars signed 10 draft picks Friday, announcing contracts for running back Tank Bigsby, linebacker Ventrell Miller, outside linebacker Yasir Abdullah, safety Antonio Johnson, wide receiver Parker Washington, cornerback Erick Hallett II, cornerback Christian Braswell, offensive lineman Cooper Hodges, defensive tackle Raymond Vohasek, and fullback Derek Parish.

That leaves only first-round pick Anton Harrison, second-round pick Brenton Strange, and fourth-round pick Tyler Lacy left unsigned from the team’s 2023 NFL draft class.

Strange reportedly reached a deal with the Jaguars on Friday, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 in Houston, but the contract hasn’t been announced by the Jaguars yet.

Details of the rookie deals signed Friday haven’t been made public, but most of the terms of the contracts are pre-determined by the rookie wage scale written into the league’s collective bargaining agreement. An eventual deal with Harrison is expected to be for about $13.2 million over four years with a fifth-year option that’ll be impacted by play time and potential Pro Bowl appearances.

The Jaguars’ 13-player draft class is the largest in the franchise’s history. Ten of those selections came in Day 3, the most for any team in the last three drafts.

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Jacksonville mayoral candidates oppose Jaguars temporarily leaving town

The two Jacksonville mayoral candidates both said they’d oppose the Jaguars playing in another city during future stadium renovations.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry raised eyebrows earlier this week when he said that the Jacksonville Jaguars will have no choice but to find another place to play when TIAA Bank Field is undergoing a two-year renovation.

The candidates to fill Curry’s seat both pumped the brakes on that notion Thursday.

“During construction, I expect our team to play in Jacksonville as they have for nearly thirty years,” Democratic candidate Donna Deegan said in a statement, via the Florida Times-Union. “Terms of a deal will be decided thoughtfully and responsibly with input from all stakeholders, not at the height of a campaign.”

Republican candidate Daniel Davis shared a similar sentiment on Twitter:

There’s no proposal for a stadium upgrade in place and negotiations are ongoing, so Curry’s assertion that the Jaguars will be forced out of TIAA Bank Field seems speculative at this point. However, both the University of Florida and University of North Florida confirmed that the Jaguars have contacted them about the possibility of hosting games in the future.

Deegan and Davis advanced to a runoff after no candidate received at least 50 percent of the vote in the March election. The runoff is scheduled to happen next week on Tuesday, May 16.

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Jaguars to have joint training camp practices with Lions in Detroit

The Jaguars and Lions will practice together in Detroit for a few days in August.

The Jacksonville Jaguars and Detroit Lions won’t play each other in the 2023 regular season, but they will spend a few days helping each other prepare in training camp.

On Friday, Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said his team will travel to Detroit for joint practices ahead of a preseason game against the Lions. An exact date for the game hasn’t been announced, but it’ll be the second of three exhibitions for Jacksonville and will likely fall on the weekend of August 19-20.

Joint practices in training camp have become common practice in the NFL with players excited to get reps against fresh faces after weeks of working solely against teammates.

Both the Lions and Jaguars have high hopes for the 2023 season after overachieving in 2022. Jacksonville rose from the worst team in the NFL to a division winner, while Detroit bounced back from a 1-6 start to finish 9-8 and barely miss the postseason.

Last year, the Jaguars spent part of training camp in Atlanta working with the Falcons.

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