Tag: Bruce Miller

Jaguars make several transactions before Week 16’s game against the Bears

The Jags decided to bolster their numbers at running back and other positions before taking on the Bears Sunday.

With running back James Robinson set to miss Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears, the Jacksonville Jaguars decided to bolster their numbers at running back Saturday. They activated both Craig Reynolds and fullback Bruce Miller through standard practice squad elevation.

The Jags also signed cornerback Quenton Meeks to the active roster off their practice squad and elevated offensive lineman Tre’Vour Wallace-Simms via COVID-19 replacement. Both were promoted to the active roster last week, too.

Sunday will mark Reynolds’ second game as a Jag after he participated in Week 12’s game against the Cleveland Browns. He took the field for five special teams snaps in the process.

Miller has already participated in seven games this season and started in four with the Jags. He’ll enter Week 16 with one reception for two yards.

Meeks will be taking the field for the third time this season in a Jags uniform.  He re-joined the team three weeks ago (went undrafted to them in 2018) when they signed him to their practice squad (Dec. 7). After taking the field Weeks 14-15, he’ll enter the week looking to register his first statistics though he has registered 12 special teams snaps with the Jags this season.

As for Wallace-Simms, Sunday will mark his third game, too. He took part in the Jags’ last two games and registered five snaps in the process.

Jags sign FB Bruce Miller, OL Evan Boehm to practice squad

The Jacksonville Jaguars signed two veterans to their practice squad Monday. One was the team’s former starting fullback Bruce Miller, who NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, placed on their Practice Squad/Suspended list for performance-enhancing …

The Jacksonville Jaguars signed two veterans to their practice squad Monday. One was the team’s former starting fullback Bruce Miller, who NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, placed on their Practice Squad/Suspended list for performance-enhancing drugs. He’ll have to spend six games there before he can be activated, but he won’t actually count towards a practice squad spot.

This transaction comes after the Jags released Miller just a few days ago on Oct. 30. He initially joined the team on Aug. 15 as they were seemingly looking for a veteran presence at fullback and exited his first stint in Jacksonville with one catch for two yards.

The Jags also signed offensive lineman Evan Boehm to their practice squad, who last spent time on the Buffalo Bills’ practice squad. Boehm was a fourth round selection for the Arizona Cardinals in 2016, but spent time with the Los Angeles Rams, Indianapolis Colts, and Miami Dolphins afterward.

Boehm will enter his tenure in Jacksonville with 21 starts to his name. A majority of those starts came with the Cardinals and Dolphins, both of whom he was able to garner eight starts with.

Previewing Jags’ RB group after Leonard Fournette’s departure

The Jags will be proceeding through this season without Leonard Fournette, but love the talent they had behind.

The Leonard Fournette era is officially over in Jacksonville as the Jags waived him Monday morning. After clearing waivers, the former first-round selection joined the Tampa Bay Bucs and will now have the chance to compete for a Super Bowl title with veterans like Tom Brady, Mike Evans, and Rob Gronkowski on the roster.

As for the Jags, Fournette’s departure has left many fans wondering about the running backs who remain on the roster and what they bring to the table. That said, after previewing the running backs before camp, we’ve decided to go back and look at the group for evaluations.

Here is our best guess as to how the depth chart will look come Week 1:

RB1: Devine Ozigbo

The Jags rarely used Divine Ozigbo last season after picking him up before Week 1 of the 2019 season. He only was able to register nine carries for 27 yards but that will change this season as he’s received solid reviews in camp.

It’s unknown who will be the Jags’ true “starting” running back, but it feels as though Ozigbo is the top candidate. He’s arguably had the best camp of any running back on the roster and Doug Marrone recently said he’s one of the running backs on the team who is a three-down rusher. That said, with James Robinson being a rookie and Ryquell Armstead missing various days of practice, the signs point to Ozigbo being atop the depth chart for Week 1.

RB2: James Robinson

Earlier this season, we predicted that James Robinson would make the team, and losing Fournette only helps his case more. Additionally, he’s received great reviews like Ozigbo, and veteran Chris Thompson even went on to say the rookie has the best vision of the running backs group as a whole.

Sure, it would be nice to see Robinson take the field in some preseason but the staff likes what they’ve seen in practice as he brings a nice blend of power and patience in addition to the vision Thompson mentioned. With those traits, one can see why the team is high on him as CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco pointed out this week.

RB3: Ryquell Armstead

Like Ozigbo, Armstead will definitely be getting his share of carries with Fournette gone. That’s a good thing because he was underutilized in 2019, only accumulating 35 carries for 108 yards.

The reason we didn’t put Armstead down as the No. 2 is due to him missing a lot of camp on the Reserve/COVID-19 though he was eventually removed. He’s also missed the last few practices with a non-COVID related illness, which is giving Robinson ample opportunities to continue to impress.

RB1 (third-downs): Chris Thompson

Chris Thompson is the most experienced running back in the locker room and he also has a big chance to make an impact from the backfield. Unfortunately, he’s battled with injuries and only has one career start to his name. For both of those reasons, it seems that it’s unlikely he’ll start and will be utilized more as a third-down rusher.

Thompson’s strength is pass-catching as he will come into 2020 with 1,772 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns, much of which came while being paired with offensive coordinator Jay Gruden in Washington. His  presence as a receiver out of the backfield will be key because Fournette was a huge contributor in that department. In fact, in 2019, Fournette had a career year as a receiver, garnering 522 yards through the air — a total good for fifth in the NFL among running backs.

RB4: Nathan Cottrell

Like Robinson, Nathan Cottrell was a part of the Jags’ 2020 undrafted rookie class. Of course, with him coming in at the bottom of our list he hasn’t been nearly as impressive but could be an option for practice squad.

FB1: Bruce Miller

The Jaguars appear to be on the verge of bringing the fullback position back after going through 2019 without one. However, the team seemingly wanted someone with more experience at the position, so they added former San Francisco 49ers fullback, Bruce Miller, on Aug. 15 and waived undrafted rookie Connor Slomka.

Miller hadn’t played since 2015 so it will be interesting to see if the Jags keep him. He was one of the better fullbacks in football before an alleged off-the-field incident where he was accused of assault derailed his career. However, the charges were dropped and the Jags decided to give him another chance.

If the Jags feel he’s close to being the player he was before 2015, he could make the team, but if not — they could go in another direction.

Jaguars sign FB Bruce Miller, waive Connor Slomka

The Jags are adding a veteran fullback in Bruce Miller, who hasn’t played since the 2016 preseason.

The Jacksonville Jaguars made a few transactions Saturday by adding veteran fullback Bruce Miller and waiving undrafted rookie fullback Connor Slomka. The swap of the two players kept the Jags’ roster at 80 players as they head into a new phase of training camp that will include padded practices Monday.

Like Slomka, Miller will be the lone fullback on the Jags’ roster. This is worth noting because the Jags haven’t utilized a true fullback since their 2017 season when they had Tommy Bohanon.

Miller was drafted out of Central Florida by a Trent Baalke led front office with the San Francisco 49ers back in the 2011 NFL Draft (as the 211th overall pick). As many are aware, Baalke is now with the Jags front office as their director of player personnel. Still, many fans have found it alarming that Miller hasn’t played since the 2016 preseason and will be the oldest player on the team at 33 years-of-age.

The reason behind the abrupt stop to Miller’s career was an incident where he was arrested by the San Francisco Police Department and charged with assault on two men. Per the report explaining his arrest, Miller got into a physical altercation with a 70-year-old man and his 29-year-old son at a Marriott Hotel after being intoxicated and trying to enter the elderly man’s room.

The father was reportedly punched by Miller, which resulted in both going to the hospital and Miller eventually being arrested after being examined. Miller  pleaded not guilty, and with the Jags signing him, it’s possible he was exonerated of the charges from the incident, which happened just under four years ago.

With 47 starts to his name, Miller will enter his tenure with the Jags with 28 career carries for 62 yards as a rusher and 76 receptions for 734 receiving yards and three touchdowns through the air. Those stats seem to indicate that he was a superb lead blocker with good ball skills, something Marrone spoke on this week to the media when asked about Slomka.

“Now, if it’s that type of player, you’ve got to ask yourself, what are we getting out of that player from the standpoint of the passing game? What are we getting out of that player from a standpoint of special teams? Connor has that ability, he’s tough, he can run well, he does have some ball skills.” Marrone said this past Thursday.

“The other thing you look at is okay, you understand that goal line, short yardage, or maybe some situations you’re going to have to bring someone over and those snaps during the year, when you look at it from a percentage standpoint, are low.”