Jaguars’ Josh Hines-Allen finalizes details for jersey exchange
Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen has finalized the details of his jersey exchange, planning to host 100 fans for a night of “family fun” on Sept. 20 from 5 to 7 p.m. ET, the Friday before Jacksonville’s Week 3 Monday Night Football matchup at Buffalo.
The event’s exact location is provided to fans who pre-register, which can be done here.
Hold up! I can’t let you guys roll out this season with my old name on the back of your @Jaguars jerseys.
Formerly known as Josh Allen, the sixth-year Jaguars edge rusher paid tribute to his maternal family’s athletic legacy by legally adding Hines to his last name in July.
He joins sister Myisha Hines-Allen (Washington Mystics, WNBA) and uncle Gregory Hines (Golden State Warriors, NBA) to don the nameplate professionally.
Sisters Kyra Hines-Allen (Cheyney University) and LaTorri Hines-Allen (Virginia Tech and Towson); and uncle Keith Hines (Montclair State) also played college basketball.
A 2019 first-round pick by Jacksonville, who signed a five-year, $141.3 million contract extension with the club in April, Hines-Allen has produced 251 tackles including 53 for loss, 45 sacks, nine forced fumbles, two interceptions and eight defended passes with the Jaguars.
Jaguars announce five team captains for 2024 season
The Jaguars announced five team captains Tuesday morning, awarding quarterback Trevor Lawrence, tight end Evan Engram, defensive end Joshua Hines-Allen, linebacker Foyesade Oluokun and punter Logan Cooke the honors for the 2024 season.
Lawrence returns to his leadership post for a fourth consecutive campaign, every season he has been with Jacksonville since his first overall selection in the 2021 NFL draft, and Oluokun does the same for his third.
Viewed as franchise cornerstones, Lawrence, Oluokun and Hines-Allen each signed long-term contracts with Jacksonville this offseason.
In three seasons and 50 starts with the Jaguars, Lawrence has completed 63.8% of his passes for 11,770 yards with 58 touchdowns and 39 interceptions, adding 11 scores on the ground.
Hines-Allen, Jacksonville’s 2019 first-round pick, set the team’s single-season sack record with 17.5 last season, bringing his career total to 45 sacks, paired with 53 tackles for loss, nine forced fumbles, one interception, eight defended passes and 251 total tackles.
Oluokun, who signed with Jacksonville in 2022 after four seasons with Atlanta, has compiled 357 total tackles including 20 for loss, 4.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, one interception and 11 defended passes with the Jaguars.
Engram, also a 2022 free-agent signee, finished last season with the second-most receptions in one year in Jaguars history, with 114.
After spending the first five seasons of his career with New York, Engram has posted 187 receptions for 1,729 tards and eight touchdowns with Jacksonville. He is on pace to surpass his reception total with the Giants in three seasons with the Jaguars.
Cooke has operated as Jacksonville’s starting punter since his 2018 seventh-round selection by the club, averaging 47.1 yards per attempt with 162 punts pinned inside the 20-yard line thus far.
Jacksonville will kick off its season at Miami on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
The Jacksonville Jaguars completed their initial roster cutdowns a few hours before the NFL’s 4 p.m. deadline on Tuesday.
While the bottom of the group is expected to change over the next 24 hours, the moves to get the team from 90 to 53 players have given people a better idea of what the 2024 roster could become.
Below are three initial takeaways from the Jaguars’ roster cuts.
Edge rush depth is lacking
Jul 24, 2024; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Arik Armstead (91) participates in training camp at Miller Electric Center. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
Following the releases of D.J. Coleman and Joe Graziano, the team now has just three true edge rushers: Josh Hines-Allen, Travon Walker and Myles Cole.
Free-agent signee Arik Armstead is listed as one of four defensive ends on the roster. He will likely see playing time as both a 3-technique and 5-technique to allow defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen to rotate what is expected to be a fairly deep defensive tackle group.
This also helps Walker and Hines-Allen by reducing their respective payloads. Yet, having Cole as the team’s lone depth rusher presents concerns.
It is possible that general manager Trent Baalke is not done with how he addresses the bottom of the Jaguars’ roster, especially the lack of depth at edge rusher. Look for him to scour the waiver wire or free agency to address the room, even if it is just one player.
Wide receiver could be a strength after all
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. (7) reacts to his reception during the first quarter of a preseason NFL football game Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]With training camp in the rearview mirror and roster cuts completed, the Jaguars may have a steady group of wide receivers after all.
The team kept six wideouts, including Tim Jones and Devin Duvernay, who will occupy significant roles on special teams as a core-four player and return specialist, respectively.
They also provide depth to a room that might pose a question mark or two heading into Week 1 versus Miami, Duvernay specifically, who has 94 career receptions.
Christian Kirk, Gabe Davis and rookie Brian Thomas Jr. are expected to be the three starting wideouts of the group. Davis has had an impressive summer while Thomas continued to stress defenses on vertical planes as he did in college, especially on slot fades, where he dominated with LSU.
Offensive coordinator Press Taylor will look to find ways to generate explosive plays with this trio, paired with tight end Evan Engram. This flashed with some of the Jaguars starters on the field Friday night in Atlanta and could be a sign that Thomas could have a fairly productive rookie campaign, in particular.
Yes, the Jaguars would benefit greatly from having a superstar playmaker for franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence. But at this juncture, it looks like the team is confident in the playmakers on the roster.
Ryan Nielsen’s defense could be fun to watch in 2024
Aug. 4, 2024: Jaguars defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen during Day 10 of Jacksonville’s 2024 training camp. [Credit: Zach Goodall – Jaguars Wire/USA TODAY SMG]Despite concerns about the team’s edge rush depth, the Jaguars’ defense could make for an exciting group if everything comes together.
Nielsen, who joined Jacksonville from Atlanta in February, is expected to implement an aggressive man coverage base 4-3 system.
This should allow cornerbacks Tyson Campbell and Ronald Darby to play to their strengths while helping the rest of the defense become more opportunistic with takeaways.
During his lone season with the Falcons, Nielsen’s defense forced 18 fumbles, the second-most in the league.
The Jaguars have a group of players on all three levels that can create disruption and takeaways. Campbell, linebacker Devin Lloyd and ball-hawking safety Andre Cisco should come to mind when it comes to this area of expertise.
Nielsen also has a defensive line capable of generating pressure consistently and could force opposing QBs into bad decisions.
This may not be the elite defense that carried the Jaguars to the AFC Championship in 2016 but it is a unit that could be formidable in a division featuring bright and promising signal-callers.
There may be some lingering questions with the depth at edge rusher and a young cornerback room behind Campbell and Darby. Even so, the Jaguars could be competing for the AFC South crown once again should Nielsen’s defense meet expectations.
Jaguars’ Joshua Hines-Allen earns first career NFL Top 100 spot
Following his 17.5-sack season with the Jaguars in 2023, edge rusher Joshua Hines-Allen has made the NFL Top 100 players list for the first time in his career, taking the No. 35 spot, the league revealed via NFL Plus on Monday.
Hines-Allen is the second Jacksonville player to earn a spot on the player-voted Top 100 entering the 2024 season, alongside quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who checked in at No. 94 overall last week.
He is the eighth edge rusher to crack the NFL Top 100 so far this offseason, following Detroit’s Aidan Hutchinson (No. 47), New York Giants’ Brian Burns (No. 55), Miami’s Bradley Chubb (No. 62), Houston’s Danielle Hunter (No. 68), Cincinnati’s Trey Hendrickson (No. 77), Chicago’s Montez Sweat (No. 82) and New York Jets’ Haason Reddick (No. 87).
Hines-Allen ranked tied for No. 2 among the league’s sack leaders in 2023, with Hendrickson and behind only Pittsburgh edge rusher T.J. Watt, who logged 19 sacks.
In total, Hines-Allen recorded 66 tackles including 17 for loss, two forced fumbles, one interception and one defended pass over 17 games last season, paired with his 17.5 sacks.
Jacksonville’s first-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft, Hines-Allen now ranks No. 2 in Jaguars history with 45 career sacks, 10 back from franchise leader Tony Brackens’ 55.
Hines-Allen’s NFL Top 100 recognition is the latest honor he has received for his 2023 performance.
Jaguars’ Joshua Hines-Allen shares early details for jersey exchange
Jaguars edge rusher Joshua Hines-Allen shed light on the jersey exchange he’s planning after legally changing his name from Josh Allen earlier this week, telling Rich Eisen on SiriusXM the event will occur before Jacksonville’s Week 3, Monday Night Football matchup with Buffalo.
Hines-Allen shared that, by exchanging outdated jerseys with only “Allen” on the nameplate, fans will be eligible to purchase a “Hines-Allen” jersey with a discount — “a good one.”
“It was the best timing. We play [Buffalo on] Monday night, so we had a little bit more time during the week,” Hines-Allen explained.
“I didn’t want to do anything during training camp, you know, my time is going to be occupied around that time. And Week 1 [is on] Sunday. Week 2, Sunday, so it was like Monday night, we’ve got a little bit more time in the week, a little bit more free time.”
Citing his maternal family’s athletic legacy, Hines-Allen joins sister Myisha Hines-Allen (Washington Mystics, WNBA) and uncle Gregory Hines (Golden State Warriors, NBA) to don the nameplate professionally.
Sisters Kyra Hines-Allen (Cheyney University) and LaTorri Hines-Allen (Virginia Tech and Towson); and uncle Keith Hines (Montclair State) also played college basketball.
But with the the Jaguars’ Week 3 opponent in mind, Eisen evoked “the other Josh Allen” debate between Jacksonville and Buffalo fans over the years Hines-Allen and Bills quarterback, Josh Allen, have been with their respective teams.
Hines-Allen quickly reminded Eisen that the Jaguars have yet to lose to the Bills since he entered the NFL.
“I mean, I’m, 2-0. 2-0,” Hines-Allen remarked. “But respectfully, [Allen is a] good player, great guy.
“You know, I really can’t control what people may think or why. Everybody has their opinion and that’s their opinion for a reason. I know the reason why I’ve done it. I think it was a great opportunity and a great moment in my career to maximize off everything I can do. And you know, the sky is the limit. I’m only going to go up from here.”
A definitive date for Hines-Allen’s jersey exchange has not been established, but he mentioned it would occur during the week before the game.
“All my Jacksonville fans, come out and support,” Hines-Allen said. “We’re going to have a great time. Bring your family, bring your jerseys.”
Jaguars EDGE legally changes name to Joshua Hines-Allen
Star Jaguars edge rusher Josh Allen has legally changed his name to Joshua Hines-Allen as a tribute to the maternal side of his family, William Raymond Communications, his agency, announced Tuesday.
“Legacy is forever, and I’m proud to carry that tradition on the back of my jersey, following in the footsteps of my family, who have donned the Hines-Allen last name with so much pride and joy,” Hines-Allen said in a statement.
“My last name has been changed, but I’m still that person. And I will continue to play like it, play even better.”
Hines-Allen’s legal name will be reflected on his No. 41 Jaguars jersey beginning this season.
He’ll be far from the first Hines-Allen to represent the family name athletically.
Hines-Allen’s sister, Myisha Hines-Allen, plays for the WNBA’s Washington Mystics. Additionally, sisters Kyra Hines-Allen played basketball at Cheyney University and LaTorri Hines-Allen played basketball at Virginia Tech and Towson.
His uncle, Gregory Hines, is in the Hampton University Athletics Hall of Fame and was drafted by the Golden State Warriors in the fifth round of the 1983 NBA draft. Keith Hines, another uncle, played basketball at Montclair State.
“Family is important to me because when you come from a rich history of athletic people in your family, and myself being the youngest one, to go to all of my sister’s games, to know what my uncles did in college and in the NBA, it just means something a little bit more,” Hines-Allen said.
“It was almost destined for me to follow in their footsteps. It’s going to be a surreal moment the first time I get my name announced.”
𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗵𝘂𝗮 𝗛𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀-𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻
Legacy is forever, and I’m proud to carry that tradition on the back of my jersey, following in the footsteps of my family, who have donned the Hines-Allen last name with so much pride and joy. pic.twitter.com/8wAaj2hhpS
— Joshua Hines-Allen (@JoshHinesAllen) July 9, 2024
Hines-Allen, the Jaguars’ first-round, No. 7 overall selection in the 2019 NFL draft, signed a five-year contract extension worth $141.3 million with the club this offseason, following his career season in 2023 when he recorded 17.5 sacks.
He now ranks second in Jaguars history for career sacks with 45, 10 behind franchise leader Tony Brackens’ 55.
