Tag: Connor Slomka

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.”

Rookie FB Connor Slomka moved back to Jags’ active roster after passing physical

Connor Slomka didn’t have to even spend a day off the Jags’ active roster as he passed his physical Tuesday.

The Jacksonville Jaguars started training camp Tuesday and already are trending in the right direction in terms of getting players back from their reserve lists. Undrafted rookie fullback Connor Slomka, who was placed on the team’s active/ non-football list Monday, passed his physical Tuesday and was moved to the active roster.

This comes after Slomka was one of five players placed on a reserve list Monday.

Under his previous designation, Slomka still accounted for a roster spot, but obviously needed medical clearance for activities on the field. Luckily, he had plenty of time to begin with as it appears physical activities won’t start until seven days in, when the team begins their strength and conditioning phase.

The rookie will enter 2020 after spending his collegiate career with Army. He’ll be coming off his best season in 2019 where he was able to accumulate 149 carries for 658 yards and eight touchdowns. In terms of his career numbers, he was able to garner 274 carries for 1,208 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns.

As of now, he’s the only fullback on the Jags roster at 6-foot-0, 240 pounds. He will share a virtual running backs room with Leonard Fournette, Ryquell Armstead, and veteran Chris Thompson among notables.

Jaguars place 1 rookie on active/non-football list, 4 on reserve/COVID-19 list

The Jacksonville Jaguars have begun making transactions Monday with training camp set to start Tuesday, July 28. They started the week off by placing rookie fullback Connor Slomka on their active/non-football injury list and fellow rookies Luq …

The Jacksonville Jaguars have begun making transactions Monday with training camp set to start Tuesday, July 28. They started the week off by placing rookie fullback Connor Slomka on their active/non-football injury list and fellow rookies Luq Barcoo, DaVon Hamilton, Josiah Scott, and Tre’Vour Wallace-Simms on their reserve/COVID-19 list.

With the coronavirus pandemic currently going on, the reserve/COVID-19 list is a new category made for players who either test positive for COVID-19 or is being quarantined after having been in close contact with an infected person or more. However, to respect the privacy of the players listed, the team and NFL aren’t permitted to disclose a player’s reason for being placed on the list.

In Slomka’s case, being placed on the active/non-football list means he suffered an injury that wasn’t related to football (possibly at home, car accident, etc). However, with an active tag attached to his name, he’ll account for a roster slot still.

As for the remainder of the rookies listed Hamilton and Scott were two of the Jags’ draft selections from the third and fourth-rounds, respectively, in April. Hamilton attended Ohio State and was drafted to bolster the interior of the defensive line and play defensive tackle after the subtraction of veteran Marcel Dareus.

Scott, on the other hand, attended Michigan State and most seem to think he was drafted to potentially be the team’s nickelback of the future.

Slomka, Bacoo, and Wallace-Simms joined the team as undrafted rookies. Slomka played collegiately for Army and finished his senior year with 658 rushing yards and eight touchdowns.

Barcoo was a coveted undrafted player from San Diego State. He garnered 55 total tackles and nine picks in 2019 and was projected to be a late-round pick. For whatever reason, he slipped through the cracks and will compete to make the Jags final 53-man roster in a crowded cornerback group.

Lastly, Wallace-Simms played collegiately for Missouri. He was a player we deemed  as a sleeper to make the team after starting since 2017 and earning all-conference honors for the Southeastern Conference in 2018.

Jags depth chart prediction: Running back

The Jags weren’t able to trade Leonard Fournette this offseason which mean he’ll likely be the guy leading their group of tailbacks in 2020.

With our depth chart predictions for the quarterback position out of the way, it’s time to move on to the running backs.

Here’s how we see things shaking out at what could be the second most important position for the Jags’ offense this regular season:

RB1: Leonard Fournette

This offseason the Jags at least were open to trading Leonard Fournette but we’re now past the draft and he’s still on the roster. Simply put, that means he’s going to be a Jag in 2020 in all likelihood and will also be their top running back.

Fournette will enter 2020 as one of the Jags’ top weapons after accumulating career-highs in rushing yards (1,152) and yards per carry (4.3) in 2019. He only had three touchdowns on the season, however, so hopefully coordinator Jay Gruden can help him find the end-zone more.

RB2: Ryquell Armstead

Just as he was in 2019 during his rookie campaign, Ryquell Armstead could enter 2020 as the Jags No. 2 running back. Unfortunately, he received limited carries (35) and only registered 108 yards on the ground as a result.

Granted his history with injuries, Fournette could benefit from sharing the load with Armstead but it’s unknown if the Jags will reduce his carries and utilize the second-year tailback more. Additionally, Fournette’s future with the team past 2020 is murky so it’s clear Armstead needs more snaps on the field.

RB3: Chris Thompson

Chris Thompson could be the No. 2 behind Fournette just as Armstead could, but I gave the edge to Armstead because Thompson is more of a threat in the passing game with 1,194 career receiving yards. He does know the system better than any running back on the team, however, as he spent several years under Jay Gruden in Washington so he has the edge over Armstead in that regard.

RB4: Devine Ozigbo

The Jags barely used Devine Ozigbo last season after acquiring him off the waiver wire after final cuts. He only registered nine carries for 27 yards and was only active for 10 games. He’ll be fighting to make the roster this year as a bubble player and will be the tailback who has to fend off the new incoming rookies.

RB5: James Robinson

This young undrafted rookie is a sleeper to make the roster in my opinion. He was a player who some scouts felt was a draftable prospect out of Illinois State as he was ultra-productive for the Redbirds, garnering 4,444 rushing yards and 44 touchdowns.

RB6: Tavien Feaster

Tavien Feaster is a Southeastern Conference product from South Carolina, so he’s played against the highest level of competition available. Before that, he spent three years with the Clemson Tigers. He’ll enter his rookie year with 2,002 career rushing yards and 20 touchdowns and could be a practice squad candidate with a good preseason.

RB7: FB Connor Slomka

Connor Slomka is listed as a fullback on the Jags’ site but Gruden hasn’t carried a fullback on his roster in recent years. That said, the Jags might be looking at Slomka more as an H-back. Regardless, he’s a long shot to make the final roster though practice squad is a possibility.

RB8: Nathan Cottrell

Nathan Cottrell was a teammate of sixth-round pick Tyler Davis at Georgia Tech. While there he wasn’t super-productive, garnering only 640 career yards and four touchdowns throughout four seasons. For that reason, it’s hard to see him making the final roster, but again, practice squad could be an option for him like the other undrafted running backs.

Listen to the latest from Jags Wire’s own James Johnson and Phil Smith on their podcast “Bleav in the Jags.” Subscribe via Apple podcasts and check out our archived episodes via Bleav Podcasts.

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