Tag: luke fortner

Former Bills C Mitch Morse reportedly visiting Jaguars

Free agent center Mitch Morse visited the Steelers and is reportedly headed to Jacksonville next.

Free agent center Mitch Morse is set to visit the Jacksonville Jaguars this weekend, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

Morse, who turns 32 in April, was released by the Buffalo Bills earlier this week as part of a series of roster moves by the team to clear salary cap space. He spent five seasons with the Bills after beginning his career with a four-year stint with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Prior to his visit with the Jaguars, Morse reportedly visited with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In each of his nine NFL seasons, Morse earned a grade above 61 from Pro Football Focus. Jaguars second-year center Luke Fortner received a grade of 44.3 in 2023.

While the Jacksonville offensive line struggled to clear space in the running game and didn’t do well at protecting Trevor Lawrence either, the team appears set to keep four of its five starters heading into the 2024 season. It looks like the Jaguars are considering adding a replacement for Fortner, though.

As a player who was released rather than becoming a free agent, Morse wouldn’t count against the compensatory pick formula in 2025.

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Doug Pederson ‘really feels comfortable’ with current offensive linemen

Yes, it’s lying season, but it sure doesn’t sound like the Jaguars are planning to make big changes to their offensive line.

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ offensive line was one of the worst in the NFL during the 2023 season. It struggled to protect Trevor Lawrence despite rarely facing blitzes and allowed Travis Etienne to be stuffed for no gain at a league-high rate.

But Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson doesn’t seem too concerned about finding replacements up front.

“Cam [Robinson] missed eight games last year, our left guard was a little bit of an injury revolving door type thing, Luke Fortner at center, Brandon Scherff, and then Anton [Harrison], the rookie, was learning every week and played every game for us,” Pederson said during an NFL Network appearance during the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine.

“We really feel comfortable with the guys we have there, we just have to get back to what they do best. To me, that’s kind of simplifying, put it on their shoulders, but at the same time, as coaches, putting them in position to just go out and execute.”

Earlier in the week, Pederson noted that continuity was a big issue for the line too.

“If you think about it, Cam, Ezra [Cleveland], Luke, Brandon and [Anton Harrison] played one game together,” Pederson said. “We didn’t have consistency; we didn’t have continuity. That affects five guys up front. That’s what we have to get back to, we have to get back to a little bit more consistency there.”

Should Pederson be taking at face value? Maybe not. There’s little incentive for the coach to throw his linemen under the bus in late February when there’s still plenty of offseason to sort out changes on the roster.

Yet, Jaguars brass has also had no issue with underlining cornerback as a spot on the roster that needs work.

Trent Baalke told reporters he expects Cam Robinson to stay on the roster, he’s in negotiations to bring Ezra Cleveland back, and the Jaguars appear to be in no rush to part with Scherff either.

It seems Fortner is the Jaguars offensive lineman most in danger of being replaced, but wholesale changes up and down the line are looking increasingly unlikely.

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5 takeaways from Trent Baalke’s season-wrap press conference

Trent Baalke’s season-ending press conference had some revealing moments.

Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke took his time to hold it, but he finally addressed media Thursday for a season-wrap press conference.

It came 17 days after Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson held his season-ending presser one day after the team’s 2023  campaign ended on a sour note with a Week 18 loss against the Tennessee Titans.

While Baalke’s talk with reporters didn’t come until the end of January, the Jaguars executive spent more than a half hour answering questions about what went wrong for the team, what it needs to do to make things right, and the tough decisions it has to make in the coming weeks.

Here are five takeaways about the most interesting things Baalke had to say Thursday at his presser:

5 Jaguars players to watch vs the Buccaneers in Week 16

Can the Jaguars get their offense back on track in Tampa Bay?

The Jacksonville Jaguars are finally, mercifully done playing AFC North teams. After playing the Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, and Baltimore Ravens three weeks in a row, the Jaguars fell from 8-3 to 8-6.

This makes Jacksonville’s matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers much more important. The Jaguars have a narrow lead — only due to tiebreakers — over the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans, who also sit at 8-6.

Tampa Bay is also playing for its division, though. The Buccaneers are 7-7, as are the New Orleans Saints, so they will need to keep to their winning ways if they want to earn a playoff spot.

While the Buccaneers have talent on both sides of the football, Jacksonville has the talent to get the job done if it can put things back together.

Here are five Jaguars players to watch when they travel to Tampa Bay to play the Bucs in Week 16:

5 Jaguars players who underachieved in the first half of 2023

These five Jaguars players are off to a slower start in 2023 than expected.

The way the Jacksonville Jaguars ended last season, it wasn’t hard to understand why there were high expectations in Duval — for both the team and several individual players, alike.

The Jaguars ended the regular season with five straight wins and beat the Los Angeles Chargers in dramatic fashion in the playoffs. Going into the 2023 season, more of the same was expected.

The Jaguars have started the season with a 6-2 record, but despite the impressive record, they haven’t gotten what they were expecting from a few players.

Here are the Jaguars’ five biggest underachievers through the first half of 2023:

5 Jaguars players to watch vs. the Falcons in Week 4

Here are five Jaguars players to watch as they attempt to end their two-game skid Week 4 against the Falcons:

After losing their Week 2 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Jacksonville Jaguars dropped a second-straight game, this time to the Houston Texans. The Jaguars now sit at 1-2 three games into a season where experts had them projected as a top AFC team.

Their chance to bounce back comes in their home away from home, London. On Sunday, Jacksonville will play the Atlanta Falcons, who have a 2-1 record to start their season.

Last season, the Falcons would have been a penciled-in victory for the Jaguars. However, this year, their revamped defense and growing offense give the Jaguars more of a challenge in the first London game of the year.

Here are five Jaguars players to watch in their across-the-pond tilt against the Falcons in Week 4:

Luke Fortner: Jaguars played more relaxed in 2022 without expectations

The Jaguars offense played much more relaxed in 2022 when it wasn’t dealing with the weight of expectations, says center Luke Fortner.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are searching for answers to explain why an offense that finished 10th in scoring last year and added more pieces in the offseason hasn’t been able to stop shooting itself in the foot.

Head coach Doug Pederson said Sunday that the Jaguars may have got caught “buying into the hype.” Second-year center Luke Fortner offered a similar but not quite the same explanation Monday when he told reporters that the weight of expectations could be slowing the team.

“I think last year when no one expected us to have a good offense, we’d come out, we’d play relaxed,” Fortner said Monday. “Hey we’re going to go make plays just when they come to us, we’re not going to go looking for extra plays, and we’re not going to go make plays happen. Then they happened.

“Now, we’re saying, ‘We got to be a good offense, we got to go be a good offense.’ We’re all just pushing and pushing and pushing to make all these plays. We have the players in place that it will come to us, and it will happen, we just have to let it.”

Through the first three weeks, the Jaguars offense is 21st in scoring with 19 points per game. The team has turned the ball over five times with at least one giveaway in all three games.

One reason why many were expecting Jacksonville to have one of the league’s most unstoppable offenses was the addition of receiver Calvin Ridley. After recording seven receptions for 92 yards and a touchdown in his first two quarters with the Jaguars, the veteran receiver has struggled in the last couple weeks.

Pederson’s explanation for Ridley’s rough stretch mirrored Fortner’s thoughts on the weight of expectations. The Jaguars coach said that the receiver “wants to prove” that he’s one of the NFL’s best and needs to just relax.

The Jaguars will look to get back on the right track with a two-game trip to London where they’ll play the Atlanta Falcons and Buffalo Bills.

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Jaguars vs. Chiefs inactives: Brandon Scherff active in Week 2

Brandon Scherff and Luke Fortner were expected to be cleared to play today and that was made official 90 minutes before kickoff.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will have starting offensive linemen Brandon Scherff and Luke Fortner in the lineup Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.

On Friday, Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said both linemen were in line to play in Week 2, but they were both still listed as questionable. Their status was made official 90 minutes before kickoff when Jacksonville released its small list of four inactives:

Fifth-round rookie Antonio Johnson is the only Jaguars player missing due to an injury, as he’s been nursing a hamstring problem since August. On Saturday, the Jaguars placed cornerback Gregory Junior on the injured reserve with a hamstring injury of his own.

For the Chiefs, all the stars will be back in action. After Travis Kelce and Chris Jones missed Week 1, both are in the lineup Sunday:

Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire was listed as questionable, but is available. Kansas City will also lean on Isiah Pacheco and Jerick McKinnon at running back.

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Jaguars 2023 roster review: C Luke Fortner

Center Luke Fortner started from day one as a rookie with the Jaguars.

The brunt of the offseason is in the books and training camp is underway. Join us for a player-by-player review of the Jaguars roster ahead of the 2023 season.

In March, the NFL handed out bonus checks from its Performance-Based Program, which aims to reward players who out-played and out-worked their contract.

Only two players in the league received a bigger bonus than the Jacksonville Jaguars’ rookie center, Luke Fortner.

The 2022 third-round pick wasted no time hopping straight into the Jaguars’ starting lineup as the team’s center from day one. Fortner played 100 percent of the team’s offensive snaps as a rookie and impressed coaches and teammates alike with his maturity and intellect.

Now the second-year offensive lineman is primed to take a step forward and solidify his spot as a cornerstone piece of the Jaguars offense for the foreseeable future.

Contract (2023): $905,003 base salary, $295,012 prorated signing bonus, $50,000 workout bonus, $1,250,015 cap hit.

Acquired: The Jaguars drafted Fortner with the No. 65 overall pick in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft.

PFF grades:

  • 52.0 (2022)

Highlight:

Quote: “Obviously it will be nice to walk into the building and not be shaking hands for the first time with everybody. It will be a little more comfortable and I will know what to expect and who almost everybody is. Last year I was always guessing if I was doing enough or should I be doing  more. Or maybe even doing less. Now I have a feel for what it takes.” – Fortner

Calvin Ridley (No. 0) Travis Etienne Jr. (No. 1) Rayshawn Jenkins (No. 2) C.J. Beathard (No. 3) Tank Bigsby (No. 4) Andre Cisco (No. 5)
Chris Claybrooks (No. 6) Zay Jones (No. 7) Logan Cooke (No. 9) Parker Washington (No. 11) James McCourt (No. 12) Christian Kirk (No. 13)
Kendric Pryor (No. 14) Tim Jones (No. 15) Trevor Lawrence (No. 16) Evan Engram (No. 17) Nathan Rourke (No. 18) Sammis Reyes (No. 19)
Daniel Thomas (No. 20) Latavious Brini (No. 21) JaMycal Hasty (No. 22) Foyesade Oluokun (No. 23) Snoop Conner (No. 24) D’Ernest Johnson (No. 25)
Antonio Johnson (No. 26) Divaad Wilson (No. 27) Tevaughn Campbell (No. 29) Montaric Brown (No. 30) Darious Williams (No. 31) Tyson Campbell (No. 32)
Devin Lloyd (No. 33) Gregory Junior (No. 34) Ayo Oyelola (No. 35) Christian Braswell (No. 36) Tre Herndon (No. 37) Qadree Ollison (No. 38)
Jamal Agnew (No. 39) Erick Hallett (No. 40) Josh Allen (No. 41) Andrew Wingard (No. 42) Kaleb Hayes (No. 43) Derek Parish (No. 43)
Travon Walker (No. 44) K’Lavon Chaisson (No. 45) Ross Matiscik (No. 46) De’Shaan Dixon (No. 47) Chad Muma (No. 48) Shaquille Quarterman (No. 50)
Ventrell Miller (No. 51) DaVon Hamilton (No. 52) Willie Taylor III (No. 53) DJ Coleman (No. 54) Dequan Jackson (No. 55) Yasir Abdullah (No. 56)
Caleb Johnson (No. 57) Raymond Vohasek (No. 59) Darryl Williams (No. 60) Samuel Jackson (No. 62) Coy Cronk (No. 64) Chandler Brewer (No. 67)
Brandon Scherff (No. 68) Tyler Shatley (No. 69) Cole Van Lanen (No. 70) Walker Little (No. 72) Blake Hance (No. 73) Cam Robinson (No. 74)
Cooper Hodges (No. 75) Anton Harrison (No. 76) Josh Wells (No. 77) Ben Bartch (No. 78) Luke Fortner (No. 79) Kevin Austin Jr. (No. 80)
Seth Williams (No. 81) Elijah Cooks (No. 84) Brenton Strange (No. 85) Gerrit Prince (No. 86) Jaray Jenkins (No. 87) Oliver Martin (No. 88)
Luke Farrell (No. 89) Henry Mondeaux (No. 90) Dawuane Smoot (No. 91) Jordan Smith (No. 92) Tyler Lacy (No. 93) Folorunso Fatukasi (No. 94)
Roy Robertson-Harris (No. 95) Adam Gotsis (No. 96) Michael Dogbe (No. 98) Jeremiah Ledbetter (No. 99) Brandon McManus Jacob Harris
Josh Pederson

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Luke Fortner, Andre Cisco receive big pay boosts for 2022 play

Luke Fortner and Andre Cisco received two of the NFL’s six biggest payouts from the Performance-Based Pay program.

Jacksonville Jaguars center Luke Fortner and safety Andre Cisco were two of the biggest beneficiaries of the NFL’s Performance-Based Pay program this season.

On Friday, the league announced the top 25 biggest payouts from the program and the two Jaguars were near the top of the list. Fortner’s $819,686 bonus was the third highest in the league and Cisco wasn’t far behind in sixth place with a $763,775 bonus.

The Performance-Based Pay program is a fund that distributes money across the league based on a player’s total snaps as compared to their salary. Those with relatively small contracts, but a big on-field role receive the biggest payouts.

Fortner, a third-round pick in 2022, received a $1.18 million signing bonus as part of his rookie contract, but had a $705,000 base salary. In his first season with the Jaguars, Fortner played 100 percent of the team’s offensive snaps and was on the field for 17 percent of the special teams snaps.

Cisco had an $898,023 base salary in 2022 and was on the field for 97 percent of the Jaguars’ defensive snaps and 34 percent of the team’s special teams snaps.

Philadelphia Eagles safety Marcus Epps led all players in the fund distribution with a $880,384 payout after playing 99 percent of the Eagles’ defensive snaps and 38 percent of their special teams snaps on a $965,000 base salary without any prorated signing bonus.

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