Tag: Ayo Oyelola

Jaguars announce 14 players signed to reserve/future contracts

The Jaguars made the addition of 14 players official Tuesday.

A day after the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 2023 season ended, the team signed 11 players to reserve/future deals, according to the NFL’s transaction wire.

More than a month later, the team has finally announced those signings along with a trio of other players. One of those three is kicker Riley Patterson, whose reunion with the Jaguars popped up on the transaction wire a week ago. The other two, tight end Josh Pederson and receiver Seth Williams, spent the 2023 season with Jacksonville.

Reserve/future deals, typically a minimum-salary contract, don’t count against the team’s salary cap or roster limit until the beginning of the next league year. Essentially that means those type of contracts are a way to keep players while roster limits haven’t yet been expanded back to a maximum of 90 players, which will happen when the new league year begins in March.

The notable omission from the list is running back Snoop Conner, who was picked by the Jaguars in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL draft. Here’s all 14 players who were officially added to the Jaguars’ roster Tuesday on reserve/futures contracts:

Jaguars sign 11 players to reserve/future contracts

The Jaguars made moves on Monday to keep more than half of their practice squad players.

The 2023 season is officially over for the Jacksonville Jaguars and they made their first moves to secure a few players for 2024.

Reserve/future deals, which are typically a minimum-salary contract, don’t count against the team’s salary cap or roster limit until the beginning of the next league year. In layman’s terms, they’re a way to keep practice squad players while roster limits haven’t yet been expanded back to a maximum of 90 players.

On Monday, the Jaguars kept more than half of the players who were on the practice squad at the end of the regular season. While there’s still time for the team to add more players via reserve/future deals, notable omissions for now include running back Snoop Conner, tight end Josh Pederson, and quarterback E.J. Perry.

Instead, these are the 11 players the Jaguars secured Monday, via the NFL’s transaction wire:

Jaguars 2023 roster review: S Ayo Oyelola

British safety Ayo Oyelola joined the Jaguars last year via the NFL’s International Pathway Program.

The brunt of the offseason is in the books and training camp is still off on the horizon. Join us in the NFL’s dead zone with a player-by-player review of the Jaguars roster ahead of the 2023 season.

During the NFL offseason, each team’s roster limit is expanded to a maximum of 90 players. However, the Jacksonville Jaguars have a 91st player in safety Ayo Oyelola.

By way of the International Pathway Program, the Jaguars added the British defensive back during the 2022 offseason, who comes with an exemption that allows him to fill an extra spot on the roster.

While earning a law degree at the University of Nottingham in England, Oyelola began playing American football during his sophomore year. A few years later, he spent time with the Canadian Football League’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers before his NFL rights were allocated to the Jaguars.

After spending the 2022 season on the practice squad, Oyelola is hopeful for a spot on the active roster in 2023.

Contract (2023): $750,000 base salary, $750,000 cap hit.

Acquired: Jaguars signed Oyelola via the International Pathway Program on May 3, 2022.

PFF grades: 

  • N/A

Statistics:

  • N/A

Highlight:

Quote: “You can see talent a mile off — the way that an athlete walks, how they carry themselves, and how they move — that was one thing that leapt out right away (about Oyelola). Ayo was fast — his acceleration was ridiculous — and he was fearless. All the things you want to see from a defensive player.” – Nottingham head coach Jason Scott

Calvin Ridley (No. 0) Travis Etienne Jr. (No. 1) Rayshawn Jenkins (No. 2) C.J. Beathard (No. 3) Tank Bigsby (No. 4) Andre Cisco (No. 5)
Chris Claybrooks (No. 6) Zay Jones (No. 7) Logan Cooke (No. 9) Parker Washington (No. 11) James McCourt (No. 12) Christian Kirk (No. 13)
Kendric Pryor (No. 14) Tim Jones (No. 15) Trevor Lawrence (No. 16) Evan Engram (No. 17) Nathan Rourke (No. 18) Sammis Reyes (No. 19)
Daniel Thomas (No. 20) Latavious Brini (No. 21) JaMycal Hasty (No. 22) Foyesade Oluokun (No. 23) Snoop Conner (No. 24) D’Ernest Johnson (No. 25)
Antonio Johnson (No. 26) Divaad Wilson (No. 27) Tevaughn Campbell (No. 29) Montaric Brown (No. 30) Darious Williams (No. 31) Tyson Campbell (No. 32)
Devin Lloyd (No. 33) Gregory Junior (No. 34) Ayo Oyelola (No. 35) Christian Braswell (No. 36) Tre Herndon (No. 37) Qadree Ollison (No. 38)
Jamal Agnew (No. 39) Erick Hallett (No. 40) Josh Allen (No. 41) Andrew Wingard (No. 42) Kaleb Hayes (No. 43) Derek Parish (No. 43)
Travon Walker (No. 44) K’Lavon Chaisson (No. 45) Ross Matiscik (No. 46) De’Shaan Dixon (No. 47) Chad Muma (No. 48) Leonard Taylor (No. 49)
Shaquille Quarterman (No. 50) Ventrell Miller (No. 51) DaVon Hamilton (No. 52) Willie Taylor III (No. 53) DJ Coleman (No. 54) Dequan Jackson (No. 55)
Yasir Abdullah (No. 56) Caleb Johnson (No. 57) Raymond Vohasek (No. 59) Darryl Williams (No. 60) Samuel Jackson (No. 62) Coy Cronk (No. 64)
Chandler Brewer (No. 67) Brandon Scherff (No. 68) Tyler Shatley (No. 69) Cole Van Lanen (No. 70) Walker Little (No. 72) Blake Hance (No. 73)
Cam Robinson (No. 74) Cooper Hodges (No. 75) Anton Harrison (No. 76) Josh Wells (No. 77) Ben Bartch (No. 78) Luke Fortner (No. 79)
Kevin Austin Jr. (No. 80) Seth Williams (No. 81) Elijah Cooks (No. 84) Brenton Strange (No. 85) Gerrit Prince (No. 86) Jaray Jenkins (No. 87)
Oliver Martin (No. 88) Luke Farrell (No. 89) Henry Mondeaux (No. 90) Jordan Smith (No. 92) Tyler Lacy (No. 93) Folorunso Fatukasi (No. 94)
Roy Robertson-Harris (No. 95) Adam Gotsis (No. 96) Nick Thurman (No. 97) Michael Dogbe (No. 98) Jeremiah Ledbetter (No. 99) Brandon McManus
Jacob Harris

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Jaguars’ Adam Gotsis, Foye Oluokun to wear flag decals in Weeks 4 and 5

Adam Gotsis and Foye Oluokun will represent Australia and Nigeria, respectively, on their helmets in Weeks 4 and 5.

The NFL announced an initiative Wednesday with a list of more than 200 players who will wear flag decals on their helmet to celebrate their nationality or cultural heritage in Weeks 4 and 5.

Jacksonville Jaguars defensive lineman Adam Gotsis and linebacker Foye Oluokun are represented on that list and will wear the Australian and Nigerian flags on their helmets, respectively.

Gotsis, 30, was born in Melbourne, Australia and grew up playing Australian rules football before taking up the sport of American football when he was 13. He came to America in 2012 to play college football at Georgia Tech, and was picked in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos.

Oluokun, 27, is the son of Nigerian immigrants and played collegiately at Yale before getting picked in the sixth round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. He joined the Jaguars earlier this year as a free agent and is a defensive team captain.

Also on the list of players participating in the helmet initiative is safety Ayo Oyelola, who is a native of the United Kingdom and joined the Jaguars as part of the NFL’s International Pathway Program. Oyelola is currently on the Jaguars’ practice squad.

Jaguars add DB Ayo Oyelola to roster via International Player Pathway program

The Jaguars announced that they added defensive back Ayo Oyelola to the team through the International Player Pathway program.

The Jacksonville Jaguars announced that they added defensive back Ayo Oyelola to their roster via the International Player Pathway program this week.

He was introduced to the game of football at the University of Nottingham. Oyelola then participated in the 2021 International Player pathway training phase but was not allocated to a team. He spent the last season in the Canadian Football League, playing for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and helping them win the Grey Cup.

Oyelola will be on Jacksonville’s roster until the end of training camp. At the end of it, he is eligible for the international player practice squad exemption, granting the team an extra practice squad player.

The International Player Pathway program started in 2017. Each season, four international players are assigned to teams within a division with this season being the AFC South. This is part of the NFL’s plan to strengthen the pipeline of international players and aims to provide elite international athletes the opportunity to compete in the league.