Jacksonville made its reported signing of free agent wide receiver Denzel Mims official and waived wide receiver Kyric McGowan in a corresponding move Thursday, the club announced.
Mims was a second-round NFL draft pick by the New York Jets in 2020 following his four-season college stint with Baylor, where he caught 186 receptions for 2,925 yards and 28 touchdowns, the latter stat ranking third in Bears history.
But Mims struggled to maintain the momentum he built in college as he transitioned to the pros. He caught 42 receptions for 676 yards and zero touchdowns in three seasons with the Jets, making 30 appearances and 15 starts.
He was dealt to Detroit during the 2023 offseason in a trade involving a late-round conditional pick swap, which was canceled after the Lions waived Mims in the preseason with an injury designation.
Mims signed with Pittsburgh’s practice squad last October and signed a futures deal with the team in January. The Steelers waived him on Tuesday.
The Jaguars signed McGowan on Friday following his mandatory minicamp tryout with the club last week.
An undrafted free agent from Georgia Tech in 2022, McGowan signed with Washington that offseason and spent most of his rookie campaign on the Commanders’ practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster for two games in the middle of the year and logged 29 total snaps.
McGowan was placed on Washington’s injured reserve last August and released shortly after that, leaving him without a team for the 2023 season.
Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said during minicamp that Jacksonville intended to sign multiple receivers this summer after the team lost undrafted rookie receivers Wayne Ruby Jr. and David White Jr. to injury in offseason workouts.
“We’re down obviously couple receivers with David going down last week,” Pederson said June 12. “We’re definitely looking to fill you couple spots before we head into [training] camp.”
Jacksonville also signed tryout receiver Austin Trammell last week, on Wednesday.