Minutes after Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson finished speaking with reporters at the annual NFL owners meeting, the team’s longest -tenured player, Brandon Linder, elected to retire. The longtime starting center announced the decision via his Instagram after being drafted by the Jags in 2014 and spending his whole career with the franchise.
Without Linder, the Jaguars will turn to backup center Tyler Shatley to take his place. He currently sits in the driver’s seat to start because Jacksonville re-signed him on a two-year deal this offseason.
Head coach Doug Pederson met with reporters to discuss the team’s plan at center following Linder’s retirement and what Shatley brings to the table.
Shatley also joined the Jaguars at the same time as Linder but Shatley came as an undrafted free agent. He’s appeared in 111 games while making 33 starts during his career.
“Tyler is a smart guy, and (he) can make all of the decisions and all the calls,” Pederson said, according to Pro Football Network’s Mike Kaye. “And that’s where it starts. It takes a lot of pressure off your second-year quarterback to be able to handle all of that communication.”
The center position was critical to Pederson’s success in Philadelphia. He relied heavily on All-Pro center Jason Kelce to make protection calls while also making key blocks in the Eagles’ screen game.
“It’s a key component to what we do,” he said. “And the (offense) really starts from the center out.”
Pederson clearly values intelligence at the center position and believes Shatley possesses that. However, the Jaguars also hold 12 picks in next month’s draft and could use one on a center to compete with Shatley.