Tag: Laviska Shenault

Jaguars trade WR Laviska Shenault to Panthers

Shenault was a key playmaker for the #Jaguars since they drafted him in 2020.

After a day spent cutting their roster closer to the maximum 53-player limit, the Jacksonville Jaguars managed to trade receiver Laviska Shenault to the Carolina Panthers, effectively getting a return for a talent they may have otherwise cut outright. The compensation they’ll be getting back is still unclear, though it is likely that they’ll receive a conditional draft pick for Shenault in a deal that should pave the way for preseason standout Tim Jones to make the final roster.

Shenault has been a mercurial presence on the Jaguars offense since 2020 when Jacksonville selected him with a second-round pick out of the University of Colorado. He has made some highlight reel worthy catches for the team but hasn’t managed to play a full season to this point in his career.

After a rookie season where he started 12 games for the Jaguars, he took a step back last year with 10 starts, though he managed to slightly out-pace his 2020 production with 5 more catches for 19 more yards in his sophomore campaign. He did not score a touchdown last year but found the end zone five times as a rookie.

Now a member of the Panthers’ snakebitten offense, Shenault can expect to see a fair number of targets in Carolina off the arm of Baker Mayfield, who has found himself in the starting quarterback role after injuries to Matt Corral and Sam Darnold in the preseason.

Shenault will have some adjustments to make in Matt Rhule’s offense but should be a natural fit with his new team this season. The trade will prove to be mutually beneficial for both Shenault and the Jaguars, as he was unlikely to see significant playing time in Jacksonville after their addition of Christian Kirk in the offseason.

Depending on the compensation, this move could provide Jacksonville with crucial draft capital in the future, which will aid in its rebuild beyond the 2022 season.

Panthers trade for Jaguars WR Laviska Shenault

Before starting on their cut to a 53-man roster, the Panthers traded for Jaguars WR Laviska Shenault.

Update (8:17 p.m. ET): Per Mia O’Brien, the Panthers will send the Jaguars a 2023 seventh-round pick and a 2024 sixth-round pick in return for Shenault.

Despite a relatively stuffy wideout room, the Carolina Panthers were still on the lookout for some reinforcements. Well, they got themselves a pretty surprising one on Monday evening.

As first reported by NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, the Panthers have traded for Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Laviska Shenault. What is headed back to Duval, however, has not yet been made clear.

Shenault was a second-round pick of the Jaguars back in the 2020 NFL draft. He played three years at the University of Colorado Boulder prior to his selection, where he earned First-team All-Pac-12 honors in 2018 and Second-team honors in 2019.

The 6-foot-1, 227-pound didn’t quite stick on Jacksonville like many believed he would. Over his two pro campaigns, he has amassed 121 receptions for 1,219 yards and five touchdowns—with each of those five scores coming during his rookie season.

Shenault now joins the group of DJ Moore, Robbie Anderson, Rashard Higgins and Shi Smith—all of which, to one degree or another, are considered likely members of the 53-man roster. This acquisition, in turn, may ultimately impact the roster chances of Terrace Marshall Jr., Brandon Zylstra and/or Andre Roberts.

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Watch: Jags QB Trevor Lawrence, WR Laviska Shenault Jr. linkup for a workout

Laviska Shenault Jr. and Trevor Lawrence are heading into their second seasons together and the hope is that their connection will be one of many that propel the Jags’ offense.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will start training camp in just over three weeks, which will be their first under new coach Doug Pederson. Two players who will be heavily watched when the process starts are quarterback Trevor Lawrence and receiver Laviska Shenault Jr., who hopefully will be two of several players propelling the offense.

Of the two, Shenault might be under the most pressure as the Jags added some competition to the receiver’s room by signing Christian Kirk and Zay Jones to starter-caliber contracts, which could push him down the depth chart. That said, Shenault needs a strong showing in camp if he wants to remain one of the Jags’ top receivers, which is something he is aware of as he said he embraced the competition earlier this offseason.

Shenault said he put in a lot of work to improve his speed this offseason and also has taken snaps as a returner to show off his versatility. However, the process of bettering himself hasn’t stopped there, though, as he recently shared a video of him linking up with Lawrence recently for a workout.

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With Lawrence starting in all 16 games for the Jags, Shenault was able to haul in 63 catches for 619 yards. That wasn’t much more than the figures he registered as a rookie when he had 63 catches for 600 yards, though he did have a career-high of five touchdowns.

With the two having one season together, the potential is there for them to display a stronger connection in training camp this season, which would be huge for Shenault’s chances to be one of the team’s top receivers. With the start of camp set for July 24, the two will have a little more time to get more pre-camp work in if they want in the next few weeks, as the Jags’ passing game will need to be much better this season.

Podcast: Previewing 6 Jags who have something to prove in 2022

In this week’s episode of @TDJaguarsPod, the crew previewed six Jags who have something to prove this upcoming season.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will take the field again later this month for training camp, and when they do, there will be a lot of competitions going on as the team will eventually go from 90 players to 53. Luckily for the Jags, they will have one extra preseason game for their bubble players to prove themselves, thanks to participating in the Hall of Fame game in Canton against Las Vegas.

Even when the Jags announce their final 53-man roster, there will be players on it who need to improve their play in 2022 after not quite meeting expectations last season, or even before that. In Episode 15 of the “Touchdown Jaguars!” Podcast, Jags Wire’s Phil Smith and I previewed six of these players, all of whom were either high draft picks or notable free-agent investments.

We also covered the recent news surrounding the Jags’ facility construction beforehand, as the Jags named a sponsor for their facility and struck some new permit deals with the Jacksonville City Council.

To listen to the full episode, hit play below:

 

“Touchdown Jaguars!” will be published weekly, giving Jags Wire readers a new go-to podcast to hear the latest in news, rumors, and more. To stay up to date, subscribe via Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and feel free to rate and comment. 

Trevor Lawrence says Laviska Shenault looked faster in OTAs

Laviska Shenault has been known more for his strength at the WR position, but he entered this offseason looking to improve his speed and agility, and Trevor Lawrence has noticed it.

The Jacksonville Jaguars had a productive offseason, but questions remain about their receivers group. They paid Christian Kirk and Zay Jones like starters in free agency and will need both to play like it, though neither has registered 1,000 yards in a single season.

However, neither free-agent addition is alone when it comes to fans hoping they will step up. Third-year receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. is also a player the Jags need to step up as he will be coming off a 2021 season where he didn’t make the impact fans were hoping for. Shenault seems well aware of this and came into organized team activities looking to improve and his quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, has already taken note of it.

Lawrence recently told the media that Shenault looks faster by his eyes and expressed his confidence in him to be a playmaker for the offense.

“He looks a lot faster,” Lawrence said to the Florida Times-Union about Shenault. “He’s just going to be that guy when you get the ball in his hands, he’s going to make the play. I think he’s made a big improvement since last season and he’s really been attacking it. I think it’s showing on the practice field.”

It seems Shenault had plans to get faster in mind all along this offseason as he told News4Jax he wanted to be more than a big strong target for the offense. Shenault says he cut down his weight lifting routine a bit and replaced it with agility exercises.

“This year I have been working on a lot of my agility and my first-step quickness. I’m a big guy. I love to lift,” Shenault said. “So, I wanted to cut that down this offseason and get moving because I feel like I lost a little bit of that going through my surgeries during the Covid year. I’m not making any excuses it is part of life.”

With the additions of Kirk and Jones, things are a little more crowded at the top of the receivers depth chart. Both players and Marvin Jones could be the starting split end, flanker, and slot receivers, which means Shenault will have to battle to earn the same depth chart spot he had last season. That’s already showing as he’s now picked up returner duties (at least in OTAs) to increase his value for the roster.

Fans will get to see the new and improved Shenault in camp next month. And when considering his competitive nature and diverse skill set, they could be in for an impressive showing from the young receiver.

“Touchdown Jaguars!” will be published weekly, giving Jags Wire readers a new go-to podcast to hear the latest in news, rumors, and more. To stay up to date, subscribe via Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and feel free to rate and comment. 

Lavish Shenault, Jamal Agnew among notable veterans to participate in mandatory OTAs

The Jags started minicamp on Monday and Laviska Shenault Jr., and Jamal Agnew were some of the notable veterans to participate.

Mandatory minicamp started for the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday, marking the last phase of organized team activities for the team. Last week, coach Doug Pederson announced that most veterans would have the period off, while rookies, injured players, and some veterans would take the field.

When the team took the field Monday for the first day of minicamp, there were a few notable veterans working with the rookies, including receivers Laviska Shenault Jr. and Jamal Agnew. In Shenault’s case, it seems the third-year receiver wanted some extra time on the field as the depth chart is loaded at his position. The team added notables like Zay Jones and Christian Kirk in free agency, which crowded the receiver position and will make things interesting in training camp.

It’s been clear for a while now that Shenault may have to work harder to reclaim his previous spot on the depth chart from 2020-21. He seems well aware of it and has been looking to help the Jags in any way that he can and has been taking snaps as a returner lately.

As for Agnew, he falls under the injured players category. He’s been working towards returning from the hip injury he sustained in November. Agnew was seen taking reps with the receivers and as a special teamer last Monday, so it appears he’s slowly working his way back to being on the practice field full time. That’s huge for the Jags as Agnew is a former All-Pro returner and a player who Trevor Lawrence looked to as a receiver.

The Jags have two days remaining for their mandatory OTAs, with sessions set to take place on Tuesday and Wednesday. Once those two days are over the Jags will take a break until around July 24, which is when they are aiming to start training camp.

“Touchdown Jaguars!” will be published weekly, giving Jags Wire readers a new go-to podcast to hear the latest in news, rumors, and more. To stay up to date, subscribe via Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and feel free to rate and comment. 

Top photos from Jags’ fourth OTA session

Here are some of the best pictures taken from OTA session No. 4 for the Jags.

The Jacksonville Jaguars took the field for their fourth organized team activity session Tuesday. After taking the field for one more today, the team will have five more before completing the current phase.

Jags coach Doug Pederson seemed to like where the team was heading into Tuesday’s session. Before taking the field for practice, he discussed a wide variety of things including how the quarterbacks behind Trevor Lawrence have fared, who the team is looking at for return duties, the defensive backs room, and much more.

After he met with the media, the Jags proceeded to have a productive practice session despite rain interfering at one point. Initially, things started outside before the team moved into their indoor facility where they were able to get some work in before concluding things.

Here are some of the top pictures that were taken along the way:

Jaguars WR Laviska Shenault getting looks as a returner in OTAs

The receivers corps is a crowded group for the Jags right now. However, Laviska Shenault Jr. has embraced the competition and has also found other ways to contribute for the team.

The Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t have a lot of bright spots last season, but receiver and returner Jamal Agnew was certainly one of them. He was dynamic on special teams, turning in a kick-six and kickoff for touchdowns, which left some feeling like he was on his way to another All-Pro specialist nomination.

Agnew also impressed as a receiver and was a solid target for quarterback Trevor Lawrence. He gave the offense speed, which was something it lacked. Unfortunately, it was the phase of the game that caused him to sustain a gruesome hip injury in November, though, and he ended up on the injured reserve as a result.

Agnew hasn’t been able to take the field for team-related drills so far as a result, though 1010 XL’s Mia O’Brian did spot him off on the side working out in a weighted vest. That said, the Jags’ staff is in a predicament where they’ve had to try out others at the return positions, just in case Agnew isn’t ready to roll Week 1 of the regular season.

On Tuesday, coach Doug Pederson discussed some options that the team has been looking at. His list included a somewhat surprising name in receiver Laviska Shenault Jr., who is one of the biggest question marks on the team.

Pederson added that receiver Christian Kirk and rookie running back Snoop Conner were also getting looks there, so it appears the team has keyed in on at least three options in the return game.

​​”We’re working a lot of guys back there right now,” Pederson said. “Laviska [Shenault Jr.]’s been back there fielding some punts and some of the younger guys in some of the kickoff stuff and some of running backs now with Snoop [Conner] in here, getting him some time. But it’s a little early, obviously. We’re working about eight to ten guys back there between punts and kickoff returns. That’s an area that we have to improve obviously.

“We know Jamal [Agnew] can handle it, but at the same time, we have to come away [with other options]. Christian [Kirk]’s been back there a little bit too. I’m just thinking of some of the guys that are there. But it’s a position that we have to make sure that we have, if Jamal can’t go to start the year, that we have confidence in the next person.”

Of course, with Shenault being utilized on offense since he was drafted two seasons ago, his usage as a returner in organized team activities immediately struck the reporters in attendance as interesting. However, according to Pederson, it was Shenault who came to the staff to express his interest in returning.

“He came to us. This was a couple of weeks ago,” Pederson said.  “I just walked up to him on the field and just asked him if he’s ever done it and he’s like, ‘Oh yeah, I’ve done it before’ and this and that and I said, ‘Why don’t you just get back there?’ So, we had a little conversation on the field, and he’s been good. He’s embraced it. He’s such a big, powerful guy, that’d be an ideal spot for him obviously to help this football team as well.”

It’s good to see Shenault embracing different ways to help the team as things are a little crowded on offense right now. However, the added competition is something he told News4Jax that he’s embraced.

As for his potential as a returner, Shenault’s strength could make him a problem to tackle as a returner like Pederson said. According to Pro Football Focus, he has caused 36 missed tackles throughout 121 career receptions over his first two seasons. That’s second-most amongst all receivers since he was drafted.

Time will tell how Shenault is used offensively and how he fares as a returner. Thankfully, with more OTA dates left and training camp set to take place next month, there is plenty of time to figure it out for the third-year receiver.

“Touchdown Jaguars!” will be published weekly, giving Jags Wire readers a new go-to podcast to hear the latest in news, rumors, and more. To stay up to date, subscribe via Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and feel free to rate and comment. 

Suddenly crowded WR rooms in Florida could help Packers solve their own WR problem

Could crowded WR rooms in Jacksonville and Miami help the Packers solve their own WR problem?

The Jacksonville Jaguars spent a lot of money to sign two receivers in free agency. The Miami Dolphins signed a receiver early in free agency and then swung a trade for Tyreek Hill. Suddenly, both teams have crowded situations at wide receiver.

Enter the Green Bay Packers.

Two names – one from Jacksonville, and one Miami – could help the Packers solve their own wide receiver problem. There’s no crowding issue to worry about in Green Bay. The Packers need help after losing Davante Adams and Marquez Valdes-Scantling this month.

Laviska Shenault and DeVante Parker should be prime trade targets for Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst.

The Jaguars could be looking to deal Shenault after signing Christian Kirk and Zay Jones in free agency. Kirk is primarily a slot receiver. The team also added tight end Evan Engram, who operates mostly from the slot. It’s going to be difficult to incorporate Shenault into the offense now developing in Jacksonville.

While miscast with the Jaguars, Shenault could be a fun fit with Matt LaFleur and the Packers.

In the Deebo Samuel mold, he’s part receiver and part gadget weapon. Samuel is a one-of-one type player, but Shenault moves and operates in similar ways and could be used by LaFleur as a versatile weapon out wide, in the slot and in the backfield. He’s a player that can create yards and chunk plays with the ball in his hands in space. It will take a creative play-designer and play-caller to maximize Shenault’s potential, and LaFleur has exactly the blueprint in what good friend Kyle Shanahan has done with Samuel.

The 42nd overall pick in the 2020 draft has 150 career touches (121 catches, 29 rushes) gaining 1,351 yards and five touchdowns. Injuries haven’t been much of a factor; he’s missed only three games in two seasons.

Shenault doesn’t turn 24 until October and could provide a big dose of talent, versatility and playmaking ability to a receiver room that needs all three.

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If the Packers aren’t interested in their own version of Deebo Samuel, DeVante Parker in Miami also makes sense as a more traditional “X” receiver.

Like Shenault in Jacksonville, there’s a logjam blocking Parker’s path to snaps in Miami. The Dolphins signed Cedrick Wilson and traded for Hill, and Jaylen Waddle is coming off a terrific rookie season. At this moment, Parker may not be anything more than a co-No. 3 receiver in the Dolphins offense.

Parker isn’t Davante Adams, but he could do a fine impersonation. In 2019, he caught 72 passes for 1,202 yards and nine scores from Ryan Fitzpatrick, but a mix of injuries and poor quarterback play has held him back the last two years. He’s missed 20 games in seven seasons, including seven last year, so there’s obvious injury risk in the 29-year-old receiver. But Parker is averaging around 4.5 catches and over 60 yards per game over the last three seasons, so he’s producing when on the field. Playing with Aaron Rodgers as a primary target could be more than enough to boost his production back to 2019 levels.

Parker doesn’t have world-class speed but he can be a deep threat, especially with Rodgers in the Packers offense. In fact, he’s been at his best in his career when allowed to make plays down the field. During his first two NFL seasons, he averaged 15.1 yards per catch and over nine yards per target. In 2019. he created seven catches of at least 40 yards and 16 of 20 or more.

It’s hard to imagine a deal involing Shenault or Parker to cost more than a Day 3 pick. Both are stuck in crowded position groups with high-cost investments ahead of them.

The Packers will like the contract situation for each player. Shenault is still on the rookie deal and would cost under $2 million in cap space each of the next two seasons. Parker is out of guaranteed money on his deal and would have cap numbers around $6 million each of the next two years. The Packers can afford to add both players if needed.

Gutekunst is in a tricky spot at receiver. He has four top-60 picks in next month’s draft, but he also has a four-time NFL MVP quarterback and a roster otherwise ready to compete for a Super Bowl in 2022. The Packers need more than just a couple of rookies at receiver. Adding veteran help like Shenault or Parker (or both?) at low cost would drastically improve the outlook of the receiver position entering the draft and give the Packers a chance to be competitive at the position during a Super Bowl run in 2022.

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Jaguars Week 15 injury report: WR Lavish Shenault Jr. upgraded to limited Thursday

The Jags upgraded WR Laviska Shenault (shoulder/foot) and a few other players Thursday on the injury report, but also added a new one in Jihad Ward (back).

Three players with injury-related issues were upgraded on Thursday’s injury report for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Those players were receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. (shoulder/foot), defensive end/ linebacker Lerentee McCray (ankle), and offensive lineman Andrew Norwell (back), all of whom were limited.

The two players who sat out of practice Wednesday to rest in kicker Matthew Wright and linebacker Damien Wilson returned to practice, too, but were full participants.

The Jags also had a new addition to the injury report in defensive end/ linebacker Jihad Ward, who didn’t practice with a back injury. Heading forward, his injury will be an important one to watch as the Jags already have two players who play his same position on the report in McCray and Josh Allen.

Lastly, the Jags downgraded running back James Robinson, however, that’s been a part of the plan for a few weeks now as Thursday has been a designated rest day for the second-year running back and veteran linebacker Myles Jack.

As for the Jets, they had two changes on their report as linebacker C.J. Mosely and defensive lineman Sheldon Rankins were upgraded to limited participation.