Tag: DJ Daniel

Former Georgia Bulldog signs with Patriots

The New England Patriots have signed former Georgia Bulldogs defensive back DJ Daniel ahead of the NFL playoffs.

The New England Patriots have signed former Georgia Bulldogs defensive back DJ Daniel ahead of the NFL playoffs. The Patriots are adding Daniel to their practice squad.

Daniel, 23, is an undrafted NFL rookie. The Jacksonville Jaguars signed Daniel this offseason following the draft, but cut him on Aug. 17. Daniel played football at Georgia Military College before transferring to UGA for his final two collegiate seasons.

Georgia Bulldogs defensive back DJ Daniel  reacts after a pass break up against the LSU Tigers in the 2019 SEC championship game. Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Daniel had a great day on Jan. 10. His Bulldogs won a national championship, and the Patriots signed him to their practice squad.

Daniel played in 21 games in his career at Georgia. The former cornerback totaled 51 tackles and nine pass deflections during his time with the Bulldogs.

Practice squads are larger in the NFL due to COVID-19. Additionally, practice squad players can be added to the active roster easier than in the past.

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2021 Jaguars roster cuts: Tracking Jacksonville’s moves on first cutdown day

Jacksonville had to cut its roster from 90 players to 85 on Tuesday, with the most notable casualty being Tim Tebow.

On Tuesday, Jacksonville had to make the first round of preseason cuts, bringing their roster down from 90 players to 85. The most notable casualty of the group was tight end, Tim Tebow, the former Heisman-winning quarterback turned professional baseball player who was attempting a return to the NFL.

Jacksonville has two more roster cutdown days before it gets down to the final 53-man roster. It must cut down from 85 to 80 on Aug. 24 before going all the way down to 53 a week later. That final cut of 27 players will be when the bulk of the notable cuts will occur.

Still, here’s a rundown of each player the Jags let go following the preseason opener.

Jags waive TE Tim Tebow among other roster moves

Tim Tebow’s return to the NFL has come to an end for now as the Jags waived him Tuesday. Four other roster moves were made, too.

With the Jacksonville Jaguars having to trim their roster down to 85 players, they started their morning making five transactions to get them there. Among them was the release of former first-round quarterback turned tight end, Tim Tebow.

The other moves the Jags made were as follows:

Tebow made his NFL return and joined the Jags after last being on a team on May 20 after he retired from Class AAA baseball for the New York Mets. He had last been with the NFL in 2015 with the Philadelphia Eagles but was waived before the regular season. Tebow, who was a first-round pick in 2010 for the Denver Broncos, was attempting to make a regular season roster for the first time since 2012.

In Saturday’s preseason game against the Cleveland Browns, Tebow didn’t register any stats but appeared to be targeted once for a pass that receiver Tavon Austin ended up snagging and advancing up the field. He also had a rough night with the blocking aspect of the game and was a player who was going to need a lot of time.

Cornerback DJ Daniel, who was waived, joined the team as an undrafted free agent after the 2021 NFL Draft out of Georgia. He only saw four snaps in the Jags preseason opener.

Both Josh Imatorbhebhe and Tim Jones, who are receivers, didn’t play in Saturday’s game due to injuries. Meanwhile, Daniel Ross sustained an ankle injury in the fourth quarter of the game after sustaining a chop block from a Browns offensive lineman.

Predicting the first 5 cuts for the Jags after their preseason opener vs. Browns

The Jags unfortunately have until Tuesday at 4 PM EST to make five cuts and file their roster down to 85. Here are five players we believe may be considered during these tough decisions.

With the Jacksonville Jaguars taking the field for their first preseason game Saturday, Urban Meyer and his staff will now have the tough and unfortunate task of narrowing the roster down to 85 (five cuts required) by Tuesday’s mandated deadline at 4 PM EST. There will also be a deadline before Tuesday, Aug. 24 (five more cuts will be required), then eventually, on Tuesday, Aug. 31, the roster will need to be trimmed down to the final 53 players.

That said, here are our predictions for the first wave of cuts:

Jacksonville Jaguars add former Georgia DB as UDFA

The Jacksonville Jaguars have signed former Georgia Bulldogs defensive back DJ Daniel to an undrafted free agent deal

The Jacksonville Jaguars have signed former Georgia Bulldogs defensive back DJ Daniel to an undrafted free agent deal. DJ Daniel surprised quite a few folks when he went undrafted in the 2021 NFL draft.

Now, DJ Daniel will have a chance to make the same team as his former teammate defensive back Tyson Campbell. Daniel is excellent in man coverage but had a better 2019 season than the 2020 season.

Daniel impressed coaches and his peers at the 2021 Senior Bowl with his size and length, but it was not enough to overcome some of his weaknesses, which contributed to him going undrafted.

Daniel, a former four-star junior college recruit, will fight for a roster spot in Jacksonville. Daniel attended Spalding High School in Griffin, Georgia. The former Spalding star committed to the University of Georgia after attending JUCO at Georgia Military College.

Now, he’ll be playing for Urban Meyer and the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars additionally landed Alabama linebacker Dylan Moses as an undrafted free agent. Moses and Daniel were two of the NFL’s more coveted undrafted players.

Jacksonville announced six UDFA signing via their Twitter account following the NFL draft.

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Jacksonville Jaguars add former Georgia DB as UDFA

The Jacksonville Jaguars have signed former Georgia Bulldogs defensive back DJ Daniel to an undrafted free agent deal

The Jacksonville Jaguars have signed former Georgia Bulldogs defensive back DJ Daniel to an undrafted free agent deal. DJ Daniel surprised quite a few folks when he went undrafted in the 2021 NFL draft.

Now, DJ Daniel will have a chance to make the same team as his former teammate defensive back Tyson Campbell. Daniel is excellent in man coverage but had a better 2019 season than the 2020 season.

Daniel impressed coaches and his peers at the 2021 Senior Bowl with his size and length, but it was not enough to overcome some of his weaknesses, which contributed to him going undrafted.

Daniel, a former four-star junior college recruit, will fight for a roster spot in Jacksonville. Daniel attended Spalding High School in Griffin, Georgia. The former Spalding star committed to the University of Georgia after attending JUCO at Georgia Military College.

Now, he’ll be playing for Urban Meyer and the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars additionally landed Alabama linebacker Dylan Moses as an undrafted free agent. Moses and Daniel were two of the NFL’s more coveted undrafted players.

Jacksonville announced six UDFA signing via their Twitter account following the NFL draft.

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2021 NFL Draft: Jags Undrafted Free Agent (UDFA) Tracker

The Jags have began the process of adding undrafted players for the 2021 season and have already come away with one notable in Dylan Moses.

The NFL wrapped the 2021 draft up Sunday, with the Jacksonville Jaguars making nine selections. However, the scouting process to acquire more  young talent for their 2021 roster didn’t stop there.

Afterward, the team started looking to acquire undrafted free agents to fill out the remainder of the roster. In the past, this is an area the Jags have had some success with, landing players like James Robinson, and Jarrod Wilson to name a few. So far, they’ve officially come to terms with six players, including Alabama’s Dylan Moses, and more will follow.

To track them and keep track of the other undrafted signings the Jags make here is our annual tracker:

Georgia Bulldogs receive official measurements at Reese’s Senior Bowl

Six Georgia Bulldogs are attending this year’s Senior Bowl and they all received official measurements.

Six Georgia Bulldogs are attending this year’s Reese’s Senior Bowl. Georgia’s Ben Cleveland, Monty Rice, DJ Daniel, Mark Webb, Tre’ McKitty, and Malik Herring are all participating in the Senior Bowl and the events leading up to it.

Richard LeCounte accepted an invitation to the game, but later decided against participating. Another player to watch is former UGA transfer quarterback Jamie Newman, who sat out the season, but is at the Senior Bowl. He has as much to gain or lose as anybody at the Senior Bowl.

The Senior Bowl is a post-season game that is compiled of some of college football’s most talented seniors. It serves as preparation for the NFL Draft. The practices and game are heavily attended by NFL scouts who have had limited opportunities to see players in person this season.

The 2021 Senior Bowl is scheduled for Jan. 30 and will showcase a large number of college football’s top NFL Draft prospects. Prospects have no NFL Combine this year, so the Senior Bowl is more important than usual. Additionally, Georgia’s pro day is especially important this year.

Here’s all of the Georgia Bulldogs who received official measurements at the Senior Bowl:

Georgia football DB declares for NFL draft, opts out of Peach Bowl

Another Georgia football DB has officially declared for the 2021 NFL draft, will opt out of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.

Another Georgia defensive back has decided to opt out of the 2021 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. DJ Daniel has declared for the 2021 NFL draft, announcing his decision on Wednesday via Twitter.

The senior defensive back out of Griffin, Georgia, came to UGA as a transfer from Georgia Military College. He was ranked as the No. 6 JUCO prospect nationally, No. 2 JUCO cornerback and No. 1 JUCO prospect in the state of Georgia before making the jump to Athens.

Daniel had a very productive two seasons with the Bulldogs, recording 51 tackles (44 solo), 3 tackles for loss and 9 pass deflections.

Daniel gave a wholesome shoutout to his family, coaches, teammates and fans who helped him get to where he is today. He is the epitome of an underdog who worked hard to silence the doubters and achieve his goals of becoming one of the nation’s top defensive backs.

We wish DJ all the best in the next chapter of his football career.

Three Bulldogs opt out of upcoming bowl game

Three Georgia football players make decision to opt out of bowl game, ending their time in Athens playing for the Bulldogs.

Three Bulldogs who have played pivotal roles within the team have decided to opt out of Georgia’s upcoming bowl game, ending their time in the red and black.  Among those players are graduate senior tight end Tre’ McKitty, senior defensive back DJ Daniel and senior inside linebacker Monty Rice.

UGASports.com initially broke the news, followed by multiple reports confirming the opt outs.

No. 8 ranked Georgia (7-2) could very well play Clemson in the Orange Bowl, should Notre Dame beat the Tigers in the ACC Championship Game today.  If Clemson comes out on top, the projection is that Georgia will likely face off against Cincinnati in the Peach Bowl.

Isaiah Wilson, J.R Reed and Andrew Thomas all skipped last year’s Sugar Bowl victory over Baylor and Deandre Baker skipped the Sugar Bowl during the 2018-19 season.  This is starting to become a trend, especially for Georgia’s defensive players trying to stay healthy for the NFL draft.

There are still some question marks surrounding other players on the Dawgs’ roster.  UGASports additionally reported that defensive backs Mark Webb, Richard LeCounte and Eric Stokes are also leaning towards an opt out, as is offensive guard Ben Cleveland.

Although this season didn’t turn out how Dawgs fans wanted, there is a bright future in Athens with head coach Kirby Smart locking in the 3rd best recruiting class in the nation so far.  Georgia’s bowl game will be announced Sunday afternoon following the conference championships on Saturday.