Tag: Joe Giles-Harris

Bills sign Joe Giles-Harris after minicamp tryout

Buffalo Bills sign linebacker Joe Giles-Harris after rookie minicamp tryout.

The Bills had invited five players with NFL experience to their rookie minicamp this weekend to tryout for the team. Of those, one impressed: Joe Giles-Harris.

The linebacker inked a one-year deal with the Bills. The team announced his signing on Sunday.

Giles-Harris appeared in nine games with the Jaguars last season, making two starts. In those games, he notched 21 tackles, two for loss and a sack. Pro Football Focus was also a fan of his, as the football analytics outlet graded him a 75.6 overall last season.

Giles-Harris did not meet the minimal requirements to rank in PFF’s overall linebacker grading chart, but his 75.6 mark would have slotted him as their eighth-best linebacker in 2020 if he had met that threshold.

The 6-foot-2, 234-pound Giles-Harris also played in 39 percent of the Jaguars’ special teams snaps last season despite only seeing action in nine contests.

That might be the best route for him to make the Bills’ final roster in training camp as the linebacker room is a packed house currently in Buffalo.

Behind starters Tremaine Edmunds and Matt Milano, the Bills still have AJ Klein and Tyler Matakevich, along with the likes of Andre Smith, Tyrel Dodson, and three other offseason signings: Marquel Lee, Tyrell Adams and Mike Bell.

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LB Joe Giles-Harris among 4 released by Jags

The Jags had to get their roster back to the offseason minimum after the draft and decided to release four players.

The Jacksonville Jaguars started Tuesday off with some post-draft transactions, releasing linebackers Joe Giles-Harris and Nate Evans, and defensive backs Nate Meadors and Doug Middleton. The moves come as the Jags added nine draft selections and some undrafted free agents, but needed to get their roster back to the minimum number of players allowed on an offseason roster (90).

Of the group, Middleton was the most experienced and 2020 marked his fifth season. He initially joined the Jags (for a second stint after being with them in 2019) through their practice squad in September. He ultimately played in 10 games for the team and was able to garner nine total tackles.

Giles-Harris was probably the most significant contributor as he made strides in 2020. He started in three games for the Jags in 2020 and was able to accumulate 20 total tackles. Giles-Harris also was able to register a Pro Football Focus grade of 75.6, which was the highest on the team though he only took 205 defensive snaps. That said, his release could be a simple case of the Jags moving to a new defensive system.

Meadors, who was a second-year player and Evans, who was an undrafted rookie last season, didn’t get to take any snaps with the team. They both were on the Jags’ practice squad last season though Meadors was activated against the Minnesota Vikings.

Jags make several roster transactions before Week 10 game vs. Packers

The Jags made several elevations from their practice squad in preparation for the Green Bay Packers.

The Jacksonville Jaguars made a wide variety of roster transactions Saturday in preparation for Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers. That included the elevation of four players from their practice squad.

With linebacker Dakota Allen and receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. being ruled out on the final injury report, the Jags utilized their two standard elevation spots on Joe Giles-Harris and Terry Godwin.

Giles-Harris has spent most of his Jags tenure on their practice squad after joining them last season as an undrafted free agent. In 2019, he was activated for five games, registering a bulk of his snaps on special teams. He also was active for the Jags’ last game against the Houston Texans where he registered more snaps on special teams.

As for Godwin, this will be his first activation from the practice squad since joining the Jags last season.

 

The Jaguars also decided to activate offensive lineman KC McDermott and safety Doug Middleton from their practice squad.

Sunday’s game will mark McDermott’s third time on the active roster as he participated in the Jags’ games against the Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals. He registered a few special teams snaps in the process but didn’t see the field for any offensive plays.

Middleton, on the other hand, will be participating in his fourth game of the season after playing in the Jags’ games against the Bengals, Los Angeles Chargers, and Houston Texans (Week 9).

Lastly, the Jags activated safety Andrew Wingard from injured reserve and kicker Chase McLaughlin from the commissioner’s permission list.

Wingard’s addition isn’t a surprise after he was designated to return from IR earlier in the week. He started in three games this season for the Jags before going on IR before Week 6’s game against the Detroit Lions and will return with 25 tackles and a pick to his name.

As for McLaughlin, he was signed to the roster earlier in the week to replace Josh Lambo, who is out for the season with a gluteus medius injury. McLaughlin, a second-year player, will come into his tenure with the Jags with a 78.3% field goal conversion rate (18-of-23) and a 100% extra point attempt rate (26-of-26). He previously spent time on the active rosters of the Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Chargers, and San Francisco 49ers.

Jags make roster transactions on defense in preparation for Texans

the Jags elevated a few practice squad players from defense before their Week 9 game against the Houston Texans.

The Jacksonville Jaguars made several roster transactions on defense by elevating multiple players from their practice squad for Week 9’s game against the Houston Texans. They utilized their two standard elevation spots to bring up linebacker Joe Giles-Harris and cornerback Josh Nurse.

The Jags also promoted safety Doug Middleton to the active roster and placed rookie linebacker Shaquille Quarterman (knee) ​on injured reserve.

Giles-Harris joined the Jags last season as an undrafted free agent out of Duke. He participated in five games in 2019 as a rookie and was able to garner three tackles on the season. Giles-Harris’ promotion not only comes after Quarterman was sent to injured reserve, but also after linebacker Dakota Allen (ankle) was ruled out Friday on the final injury report.

Nurse’s elevation could be due to Sidney Jones’ situation. While he wasn’t on the final injury report, he was limited all week with a rib injury. If the injury hinders him, it appears Nurse will be on standby to provide depth at cornerback.

Middleton’s elevation comes after the Jags had two safeties surface o the injury report in starter Jarrod Wilson and Brandon Watson. Wilson was limited all week with a hamstring injury although he wasn’t listed on the final report while Watson was limited on Thursday and full on Friday with the same type of injury.

Lastly, Quarterman was healthy all week but surfaced on the final injury report. He didn’t participate in Friday’s practice as a result and it appears the staff believes he’ll need some time to recover.

Jags officially name 15 to their initial practice squad

The Jags have names 15 players to their practice squad including veteran Mike Glennon and camp standout Terry Godwin.

The Jacksonville Jaguars named their initial 53-man roster Saturday and spent the remainder of the weekend filling their initial practice squad. On Monday they revealed that they had come to terms with 15 players for the unit, leaving just one slot available for their 16-man unit.

Those player’s names are as follows:

  • RB Nathan Cottrell (Georgia Tech)
  • TE Ben Ellefson (North Dakota State)
  • LB Nate Evans (UCF)
  • TE Matt Flanagan (Pittsburgh)
  • LB Joe Giles-Harris (Duke)
  • QB Mike Glennon (North Carolina State)
  • WR Terry Godwin (Georgia)
  • WR Josh Hammond (Florida)
  • CB Amari Henderson (Wake Forest)
  • OL K.C. McDermott (Miami)
  • OL Austen Pleasants (Ohio)
  • WR Trey Quinn (Southern Methodist)
  • DL Caraun Reid (Princeton)
  • OL Tre’Vour Wallace-Simms (Missouri)
  • P Brandon Wright (Georgia State)

As many fans are aware, there were several rule changes made to the practice squad system this offseason because of the coronavirus pandemic. The new Collective Bargaining Agreement moved the maximum unit number up to 12 players, but that number was increased to 16 when the NFL realized the severity of COVID-19. The league also decided to allow a minimum of six veterans on the unit, giving teams more flexibility during final cuts.

As for their last remaining spot, it was reported that former Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Sidney Jones would be joining the unit. He confirmed his signing through his Instagram story feed and tagged Jacksonville as a destination in it. Regardless as to what the holdup is, fans shouldn’t expect him to be on the Jags’ practice squad long as they have four rookie corners on the roster in C.J. Henderson, Josiah Scott, Chris Claybrooks, and Luq Barcoo.

Jags promote LB Joe Giles-Harris to active roster after moving Myles Jack to IR

The Jags will be giving Joe Giles-Harris another shot to prove what he can do as a reserve linebacker.

After placing linebacker Myles Jack on injured reserve the Jacksonville Jaguars filled his spot with another young linebacker from the practice squad in rookie Joe Giles-Harris.

Giles-Harris, 22, is getting his third opportunity on the active roster. He made the initial roster and was one of two undrafted rookie free-agents (with safety Andrew Wingard) back in August, but was waived before the team’s first regular season game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Not too soon afterward he was added back to the roster through the Jags’ practice squad. They promoted him again in October, but waived him in early November only to add him back to the practice squad days later.

Giles-Harris has yet to register any regular season stats, but saw the field in the preseason and racked up 15 tackles while playing in all four games. He also got the opportunity to start in their preseason finale against the Atlanta Falcons.