Free agency will truly begin next month when the 2023 league year begins, but the Jacksonville Jaguars dipped their toes into those waters Monday when they signed running back Qadree Ollison.
Ollison, 26, hit free agency a little early after his practice squad contract with the Dallas Cowboys expired and he wasn’t brought back by the team with a Reserve/Futures deal. That made him eligible to sign with another team immediately, so the Jaguars scooped him up.
DUUVALLLLLL
— Qadree Ollison (@QOllison) February 13, 2023
Prior to his time on the Cowboys’ practice squad, Ollison was picked by the Atlanta Falcons in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
In three seasons with the Falcons, Ollison appeared in 19 games and recorded 44 carries for 158 yards with five touchdowns. Despite carrying the ball just 22 times as a rookie, Ollison led Atlanta in rushing touchdowns that season with four.
Ollison was signed to the Cowboys’ practice squad after he was waived at the end of the Falcons’ training camp in 2022. While he was elevated to the active roster for three games, Ollison saw only two offensive snaps in Dallas and mostly contributed on special teams in those games.
The Jaguars entered the 2022 season with a duo of backs, James Robinson and Travis Etienne Jr., but elected to trade Robinson to the New York Jets in October. Late in the season, Jacksonville gave more snaps to backup running back JaMycal Hasty.