Tag: dawuane smoot

Report: Free agent former Jaguars DE visits AFC South rival

Report: Free agent former Jaguars DL visits AFC South rival

Former Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end and current free agent Dawuane Smoot visited the Houston Texans on Wednesday, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston.

The trip marks the first reported activity for Smoot this offseason, after hitting the free agency market in March.

A 2017 third-round selection out of Illinois, Smooth spent the first seven seasons of his NFL career in Jacksonville, appearing in 99 games and making 17 starts in that span.

After making rather minimal impact the first two seasons, Smoot went on to post five-plus sacks in four consecutive seasons from a depth and spot-starting role. He accumulated single-season career-highs of 36 tackles and seven tackles for loss in 2021, tying his single-season career-high of six sacks that year.

Smoot re-signed with Jacksonville on a one-year contract just before training camp last offseason after spending four months as a free agent, amid his recovery from a torn Achilles suffered in Week 16 of the 2022 campaign.

The injury limited Smoot to 12 games in 2023. He posted 10 tackles and a sack with those opportunities last season.

Smoot is not the only depth edge rusher Jacksonville allowed to hit free agency this offseason as its second 2019 first-round selection, K’Lavon Chaisson, signed with Carolina in March. The Jaguars added free agent former Tennessee edge rusher Trevis Gipson two days after Chaisson joined the Panthers.

14 pending defensive free agents with ties to the Panthers’ coaching staff

Pro Bowl pass rusher and pending free agent Josh Allen has an early connection with a member of the Carolina coaching staff.

Unlike their staff on offense, the Carolina Panthers didn’t need to touch their defensive coaches going into 2024. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have connections to a few intriguing free agents.

Here are 14 pending defensive free agents, in areas of need, who have ties to Carolina’s coaching staff:

The two sides of Lamar Jackson

Lamar Jackson showed both sides of his alpha personality on two throws to Isaiah Likely against the Jaguars. Watch out, 49ers.

There are people who will tell you that Lamar Jackson isn’t a good pocket passer. Those people are absolutely and demonstrably wrong, and they have been since at least 2019. That said, Jackson’s ability to make things happen outside the pocket after a play breaks down is obviously a superpower, and it was never more so than it was when the Baltimore Ravens beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 23-7 last Sunday night.

With 58 seconds left in the third quarter, and the Ravens up 10-7, Jackson took the snap at the Jacksonville 30-yard line. The Jaguars were in Cover-6 — Cover-4 to the boundary and Cover-2 to the field — and sent four pass-rushers. Defensive end Dawuane Smoot beat right tackle Morgan Moses through the pocket, and Jackson was in trouble… for a second. Smoot nearly took Jackson down, but Jackson somehow escaped Smoot’s clutches, rolled to his left, and as Smoot closed in, threw a cross-body ball to tight end Isaiah Likely, who had two defenders converging on him, for a 26-yard gain.

Smoot’s reaction was similar to everybody else’s — “How did you DO that?”

It’s a fair question, and Jackson was happy to explain after the fact.

“The defense went quarters,” Jackson said. “They dropped quarters on me. We had verts [vertical routes] going little stick nods. I don’t know if it was 91 [Smoot], I want to say, right side. He just made a good play [and] beat our guy. I just had to make a play, make something happen. I Likely. I believe if he wasn’t so free, Likely would have scored because I already [saw] him, but I couldn’t throw it because [Smoot] was rushing, and I [didn’t] want to have a fumble happen, so I just made something happen, and I [saw] him. I [saw No.] 31 [cornerback Darious Williams] flying under. I’m like, ‘If I try to drive it, it’s going to be an interception,’ and I already threw one, so I was [ticked] off. So, it’s like, just give Likely a shot. I know he can jump a little, so it’s like, just give him a shot, and he made a play, a great play.” 

A great play, indeed. This was 12 personnel with Likely and tight end Charlie Kolar aligned to each side of the formation. Likely rolled deep across from right to left, and by the time Jackson escaped Smoot, Likely was waving “wide open” like Jimmy Orr in Super Bowl III.

This week, Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken discussed how he’s able to work Jackson’s scrambling ability into the design of his playbook.

“The first thing when [Lamar Jackson] extends plays when you’re throwing is your eyes go to the skill guys that are down the field in terms of their scramble rules and how far we’ve worked to come when you have a two-play quarterback. To me, we’re unique. We have a two-play quarterback. They have to defend the first play, and they have to defend the second play. We have to continue to work to be elite in terms of our scramble rules. Early on in the game, we did that. [On] the very first drive, we had two scramble plays that converted. Obviously, we had another one that led to a touchdown – the one to Isaiah down the field. You’ll see that throughout.

“When you’re a two-play quarterback, as I say this all the time with a guy like Lamar, there isn’t one pass play we’re going to call more often than scramble. There isn’t. I don’t care [if it’s] four vertical [routes], curl-flat [routes], three-level routes. It does not matter. There will not be a route we’ll call more than our ability to handle when he gets outside the pocket and our scramble rules.”

But Jackson’s touchdown pass to Likely with 1:18 left in the first half was a different story — a great throw from the pocket. Go figure. The Jaguars were in Cover-3, and Jackson made a great tight-window throw for the score.

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get into the difficulties a defense has when facing a “two-play quarterback” as Jackson is. The San Francisco 49ers will deal with all of that on Christmas night in what may turn out to be a Super Bowl preview.

[anyclip-media thumbnail=”https://cdn5.anyclip.com/QMYLjowBhHqHmd0DwBoO/1703190501546_248x140_thumbnail.jpg” playlistId=”undefined” content=”PHNjcmlwdCBzcmM9Imh0dHBzOi8vcGxheWVyLnBvcHRvay5jb20vYW55Y2xpcC13aWRnZXQvbHJlLXdpZGdldC9wcm9kL3YxL3NyYy9scmUuanMiIGRhdGEtYXI9IjE2OjkiIGRhdGEtcGxpZD0ia2ZndnN0ZGtuNTN1ZTJjaW9mZWcyemJxaXIzdWUzMnAiIHB1Ym5hbWU9IjE5OTgiIHdpZGdldG5hbWU9IjAwMTZNMDAwMDJVMEIxa1FBRl9NODMyNSI+Cjwvc2NyaXB0Pg==”][/anyclip-media]

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os,” featuring all of Week 16’s biggest NFL matchups (including Ravens-49ers of course), right here:

[anyclip-media thumbnail=”https://cdn5.anyclip.com/_hCRiowBgv6pOedh2gq8/1703133752944_248x140_thumbnail.jpg” playlistId=”undefined” content=”PHNjcmlwdCBzcmM9Imh0dHBzOi8vcGxheWVyLnBvcHRvay5jb20vYW55Y2xpcC13aWRnZXQvbHJlLXdpZGdldC9wcm9kL3YxL3NyYy9scmUuanMiIGRhdGEtYXI9IjE2OjkiIGRhdGEtcGxpZD0ibDV1ZWd1dGpuNTN1ZXozd2d6eWU2emxlbmF6Z280ankiIHB1Ym5hbWU9IjE5OTgiIHdpZGdldG5hbWU9IjAwMTZNMDAwMDJVMEIxa1FBRl9NODMyNSI+Cjwvc2NyaXB0Pg==”][/anyclip-media]

You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

Jaguars PFF grades: Best and worst performers vs. Ravens

Jamal Agnew and Rayshawn Jenkins stood out in a losing effort against the Ravens.

The Jacksonville Jaguars had too many strong performances in a Week 15 game against the Baltimore Ravens to finish with only seven points.

Five times, the Jaguars drove inside Baltimore’s 40-yard line and none of those drives resulted in points. The only touchdown of the day came on a 65-yard bomb from Trevor Lawrence to Jamal Agnew in the third quarter.

For the most part, the Jacksonville defense showed up. Despite being in some disadvantageous spots, the Jaguars allowed only one touchdown in each half and three field goals.

Yet, the Ravens ran with a 23-7 road win against a Jaguars team that couldn’t stop tripping over its own feet. Who was most to blame for the 16-point loss, and who stood out most? Here’s how Pro Football Focus graded out the Jaguars’ performance:

Report: Saints don’t expect right tackle Ryan Ramczyk (knee) to play vs. Giants

NOF’s Nick Underhill reports that the Saints don’t expect right tackle Ryan Ramczyk (knee) to be in the lineup against the Giants and Kayvon Thibodeaux:

This is a big loss. The New Orleans Saints are not expected to have starting right tackle Ryan Ramczyk (knee) in the lineup on Sunday against the New York Giants, per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. Ramczyk was limited in practice this week with a knee injury and was officially listed as questionable for Week 15’s game but it doesn’t sound like he’ll be able to play.

That’s big news for Kayvon Thibodeaux. The Giants defensive end has primarily rushed off the left side of the defensive line in recent weeks (on 71% of his pass rush snaps, per Pro Football Focus charting), going up against right tackles, which puts him on a collision course with Ramczyk’s backup. The Saints brought up Cameron Erving from the practice squad for this game in anticipation of Ramczyk’s absence.

Erving has held up well before. The Saints asked him to fill in for Ramczyk earlier this season against the Jacksonville Jaguars and while Erving didn’t match up with Jaguars sacks leader Josh Allen he did hold his own against Travon Walker and Dawuane Smoot. Thibodeaux is a unique challenge, though. He’s bagged 11.5 sacks this year after earning AP Defensive Rookie of the Year votes last season. It’s a lot to ask Erving to block him one-on-one. Let’s see what the Saints’ plan is for slowing him down.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]

Doug Pederson: ‘The sky is not falling’ for Jaguars after pair of losses

The Jaguars aren’t panicking after back-to-back losses to start December.

It’s not too late for the Jacksonville Jaguars to turn things around. Far from it. Even after back-to-back losses to start December, the Jaguars are still 8-5 and out in front of the AFC South with tiebreakers in their back pocket to boot.

“The sky is not falling,” Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said Monday. “Obviously yes, we haven’t played our best football the last two weeks and we’ve gotten beat. … You look around the league and multiple teams have had back-to-back losses or more. This time of year is where teams begin to separate, you start to get a better picture or a clearer picture, at least, of the postseason.

“For us, it’s a matter of just continuing to focus on us, be us, be who we are, control the things that we can control. At least go out and not try to lose another football game, if possible.”

Veteran defensive lineman Dawuane Smoot echoed that sentiment later Monday.

“We’ve got four more weeks, another month. We’re definitely still optimistic, we’re 8-5,” Smoot said. “There’s no need to panic, we’re still in a good place. We just need to figure out the problems that are happening and communicate more as a team. We all just need to get on the same page to be able to make a push for these next four weeks.”

Jacksonville has a tough home game up next against the Baltimore Ravens, owners of the AFC’s best record. But after that, the Jaguars will play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers, and Tennessee Titans — three teams with losing records — to finish the year. Wins against even two of those teams would likely be enough to secure the AFC South title.

The bigger question is whether the Jaguars can right the ship in time to be a contender in January.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Dawuane Smoot is Jaguars nominee for Walter Payton Man of the Year

Dawuane Smoot is a nominee for one of the NFL’s most prestigious honors.

Jacksonville Jaguars veteran outside linebacker Dawuane Smoot is the team’s nominee for the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.

The Jaguars made the announcement on the video scoreboards Monday night during the first quarter of a Week 13 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Smoot, 28, was the Jaguars’ third-round selection in the 2017 NFL draft and is the longest tenured member of the team’s defense. He spent much of the 2023 offseason as a free agent after suffering an Achilles tear late in the 2022 season, but was re-signed by the Jaguars before training camp.

In seven seasons with the Jaguars, Smoot has 23.5 sacks and 27 tackles for loss.

For My Cause My Cleats week, Smoot wore cleats supporting The Elsie Academy, a bilingual preschool he and his wife are in the process of opening in Jacksonville.

Former Jaguars defensive lineman Calais Campbell is the only player from the team to ever win the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, which has existed since 1970.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Dawuane Smoot: ‘I’m just about where I’d be’ if I had a training camp

Dawuane Smoot says he’s steadily getting back to full speed.

Dawuane Smoot’s return to the field from an Achilles tear that ended his 2022 season hasn’t exactly been dynamic so far. The Jacksonville Jaguars outside linebacker has recorded four pressures in as many games with one sack.

According to Smoot, it’s largely because he’s only just getting back up to game speed.

“I’ve seen in the last two weeks, my get-off has gotten a lot better,” Smoot said Thursday. “My quickness is getting better, my pressures are getting better. It’s week to week.

“I would definitely say it was hard getting back and coming into it without [training] camp, without practice, and just thrown out there, it was a little tough. I’m now, what, four weeks in? That’s like the end of camp. I’m just about where I’d be at the beginning of the season.”

Smoot, 28, suffered his season-ending injury on Dec. 22 last year, but spent training camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list and began the season on injured reserve. In October, Smoot finally made his return to the practice field and made his 2023 debut on Oct. 15 against the Indianapolis Colts.

If the veteran pass rusher has another gear to hit in the last couple months of the season, it would be welcomed by the Jaguars defense. Only four teams have fewer sacks than Jacksonville and Josh Allen accounts for half of the team’s 18 through the first 10 weeks of the season.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Colts vs. Jaguars inactives: Devin Lloyd, Dawuane Smoot active Week 6

The Jaguars’ defense is officially getting a couple of players back on Sunday.

The Jacksonville Jaguars defense will officially have inside linebacker Devin Lloyd and outside linebacker Dawuane Smoot back in the lineup Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.

With kickoff 90 minutes away, the Jaguars released their list of inactives for Week 6 and it didn’t have any surprises. Wide receiver Zay Jones and offensive lineman Walker Little were already ruled out by the team due to knee injuries suffered last week against the Buffalo Bills.

Fifth-round rookie Yasir Abdullah played in the first five games of the season, but is a healthy scratch for the first time with the return of Smoot. Lloyd is expected to play with a cast over his thumb after undergoing surgery.

The Colts’ most notable inactive is right tackle Braden Smith, who was ruled out by the team Friday.

Jacksonville and Indianapolis previously met in Week 1 when the Jaguars traveled to Lucas Oil Stadium and earned a 31-21 win.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Jaguars rule out 4 players, Colts to sit 1 in Week 6 matchup

The Jaguars ruled out four players and listed linebacker Devin Lloyd as questionable for a Week 6 game against the Colts.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will be without wide receiver Zay Jones, offensive lineman Walker Little, cornerback Christian Braswell, and defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton when they play the Indianapolis Colts in Week 6, the team announced Friday.

Questionable for the matchup is linebacker Devin Lloyd, who missed the last two weeks due to a thumb injury that required surgery.

None are surprises and Lloyd appears in line to return to the lineup, although he’ll be wearing a cast over his injured right hand.

“It doesn’t change anything, but from a grip standpoint, he just can’t bend that thumb because it’s immobilized basically,” Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said of Lloyd’s cast Friday. “He has the ability to use his four fingers, but he says he feels fine. He feels comfortable using it the more time he’s out there, just catching a football is probably not the most ideal with a cast on your wrist.”

A notable absence on the injury report is Dawuane Smoot, who is set to play in his first game since an Achilles injury ended his 2022 season.

For the Colts, the offensive line will be the question mark with right tackle Braden Smith out due to various injuries.

Indianapolis will likely start rookie Blake Freehand at right tackle in Smith’s place after he started at left tackle in the last two weeks. The Colts also had an ankle/foot problem pop up for Ryan Kelly that kept him out of practice Friday and has the center listed as questionable.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]