Tag: Tyson Campbell

In which 2023 games did each Jaguars defensive star shine brightest?

The Jaguars’ defense tailed off late in the year, but it still had some impressive moments in 2023.

Before the 2023 season began, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ defensive unit was expected to be a weakness. But there were a handful of weeks when defense won the game for the Jaguars.

When Jacksonville was at its best en route to an 8-3 start to the year, the defense was a key piece to the team’s success. The Jaguars’ played well as a unit, but the players stepped up individually at different points throughout the season.

While the defense eventually came unraveled and struggled down the stretch, here were the best single-game performances for each of the Jaguars’ key defensive players during the 2023 season:

Contract projections for 6 Jaguars in line to receive new deals

How much would it cost the Jaguars to keep Josh Allen, Trevor Lawrence, and a few other players with new contracts? Spoiler: a whole lot.

When Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke spoke to reporters at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, he revealed the team is in talks with three of its impending free agents — Josh Allen, Calvin Ridley, and Ezra Cleveland — to bring them back.

Later, in an interview with NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe, he said the Jaguars have started talks with quarterback Trevor Lawrence too.

So how much would it cost to sign all four of those players to new contracts? Spoiler alert: a lot.

With the salary cap soaring, several Jaguars players are well-positioned to secure pricy contracts if the team hopes to keep them for the foreseeable future. Add defensive backs Tyson Campbell and Andre Cisco to the mix (Baalke mentioned them in an interview as players who will “eventually need contracts”) and the Jaguars could be handing out several big deals to some of their key players.

Here’s a guess at how much it’d cost for the Jaguars to keep those six players if they signed new contracts this offseason:

It sure sounds like new Jaguars DC Ryan Nielsen wants cornerback help

Was Ryan Nielsen’s press conference a hint that cornerback will be a top priority for the Jaguars this offseason?

In his first press conference, new Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen kept his cards close to the vest. Sure, he talked about his desire to build an “attacking and aggressive” defense, but there aren’t exactly coordinators talking about constructing a cordial, peaceful defense.

When asked a specific question about his vision for Travon Walker’s role, Nielsen only said “we’ll put our guys in the best positions for them to have success.”

But if there was a moment when Nielsen actually pulled back the curtain a bit, it was when he was asked about generating pressure on third down. While the Jaguars finished the 2023 season 25th in the NFL in sacks, it wasn’t the team’s pass rushers that Nielsen pointed to as the issue.

“The first thing we have to do is affect the quarterback in that we can’t allow the ball to come out of his hand quickly,” Nielsen said. “Then the rush doesn’t get there. If the coverage has holes in it or give an easy throw, it doesn’t matter who we’ve got coming off the edge. We’ve got a couple of good edge guys here. We have to get the quarterback to hold it.”

It seems Nielsen has no concern with Walker and Josh Allen getting to the quarterback. He’s instead focused on making sure the team’s defensive backs aren’t getting beat off the line of scrimmage.

Tyson Campbell struggled through injuries for much of the 2023 season, but has a good chance at being a cornerstone of the Jaguars defense moving forward. Darious Williams had a much better year than Campbell, but has a much murkier future in Jacksonville due mostly to an $11.5 million 2024 cap hit that could result in his release.

The rest of the Jaguars’ depth chart at cornerback consists of players they found late in the NFL draft (Gregory Junior, Montaric Brown, Christian Braswell, Erick Hallett) and undrafted free agency (Tre Herndon).

When the Jaguars hunted for talent at the midseason trade deadline, cornerback was one of the spots they considered to be most in need of a boost before eventually addressing the offensive line instead.

There’s no doubt that the team’s lackluster pass rushing depth is an issue. Nielsen has seemingly identified the team’s cornerbacks as the higher priority, though.

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Is the Jaguars’ need for man cornerbacks ‘blown out of proportion’?

Trent Baalke says Ryan Nielsen’s usage of man coverage has been “blown out of proportion.” The numbers say otherwise.

When the Jacksonville Jaguars hired Ryan Nielsen to be their new defensive coordinator, it seemingly signaled that a significant shift in philosophy, scheme, and personnel was on the way.

While the Jaguars defense under Mike Caldwell leaned heavily on Cover 3 zone coverages, the Atlanta Falcons primarily employed Cover 1 coverage under Nielsen. In layman’s terms, Jacksonville had three defensive backs divide responsibility for the deepest part of the secondary into thirds, while Atlanta had players mostly cover receivers one-on-one with a solitary safety patrolling the middle of the secondary.

So, the Jaguars better get some cornerbacks who can cover man-to-man, right? Not so fast, according to general manager Trent Baalke.

“This idea that [Nielsen’s] a full man-coverage guy is fully blown out of proportion,” Baalke told reporters Thursday. “I think I’ll let him speak on scheme. It’s really a zone-based system, not a man-based system but a lot of times when you play zone, and you play it well it turns into man with the match concepts and everything else.

“Schematically, there’s going to be a change. It’s not going to necessarily affect the type of personnel we look for. The thing that’s are neat is the preparation that Ryan had put in to getting ready for the interview, knowing our roster the way he did, talking through how he sees those pieces being utilized in his defense.”

It’d seem that Baalke believes the group of cornerbacks already on the Jaguars’ roster are plenty capable of playing in Nielsen’s scheme, which — in his words — is “really a zone-based system.” Yet, statistics don’t exactly support that statement.

The numbers also don’t speak well to the Jaguars defensive backs making a smooth transition to more man coverage. Cornerback Tyson Campbell was in man on 17 percent of his coverage snaps this season, according to Pro Football Focus, and was credited with allowing a 154.4 passer rating when targeted.

Opposing passer rating in man coverage was above 100 for Tre Herndon, Devin Lloyd, Montaric Brown, Foye Oluokun, and Gregory Junior too.

Perhaps Nielsen’s scheme will yield better results for Campbell and co., especially if the defense is able to produce more pressure up front. But Baalke’s insistence that Nielsen employs a zone-based system that won’t force the team to change the type of players it looks for is a head-scratcher.

Prior to the hire of Nielsen, cornerback looked like it’d be near the middle of the Jaguars’ offseason needs. Baalke doesn’t seem too concerned about bumping it up the list of priorities.

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5 Jaguars players to watch vs. Panthers in Week 17

Who needs to step up most this Sunday to help end the Jaguars’ skid?

This week’s game might be the Jacksonville Jaguars’ most important game of the season so far. And it’s against the Carolina Panthers.

Four weeks ago, the Jaguars were in contention for the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC. Now, they’re sitting just over .500 and barely holding onto the AFC South lead.

Jacksonville had a golden opportunity to put some space between itself and Indianapolis and Houston, but a blowout loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made the team’s Week 17 game against Carolina even more important.

According to NFL.com, a win against the Panthers would give the Jaguars an 81 percent chance at making the playoffs. A loss would drop that number all the way to 38 percent.

Here are five Jaguars players to watch against the Panthers in Week 17:

Trevor Lawrence, 5 other Jaguars questionable vs. Buccaneers

Trevor Lawrence is one of six Jaguars listed as questionable for a Week 16 game against the Buccaneers.

The Jacksonville Jaguars listed quarterback Trevor Lawrence and five other players as questionable for a Week 16 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Earlier in the day Friday, Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said Lawrence’s chances of playing Sunday are “better than a coin flip.” Still, the third-year quarterback was only a limited participant in practice and he’ll need to be cleared Saturday to come out of the NFL’s concussion protocol in time to play.

Joining Lawrence as questionable for the game are Christian Braswell, Tyson Campbell, Andre Cisco, Zay Jones, and Brenton Strange.

“Brenton [Strange] has been good this week and feels good, so I think he’s good to go,” Pederson said Friday. “Tyson [Campbell] and Cisco had good days yesterday, we’ll get them a bunch of time today and the numbers of reps we have to see where they’re at. Optimistic that they can play.”

Pederson wasn’t as optimistic about Jones, who suffered a hamstring injury in Week 15.

“He is trending well, he’s working off to the side with our trainers and medical staff,” Pederson said. “With a hamstring, it’s a touchy situation and I don’t want to risk anything further as we continue our season, so probably not.”

The Buccaneers ruled out one player, wide receiver Rakim Jarrett, who is still on injured reserve with a designation to return. Another two players, defensive lineman Will Gholston and safety Antoine Winfield Jr., are questionable.

Winfield earned Pro Bowl honors last year and leads the Buccaneers in both tackles and interceptions this season.

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Trevor Lawrence, Zay Jones sit out Jaguars’ Wednesday practice

The Jaguars were, unsurprisingly, without Trevor Lawrence and Zay Jones at practice Wednesday.

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and wide receiver Zay Jones both sat out practice Wednesday and another six players were limited ahead of a Week 16 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Neither absence was surprising after Lawrence landed in the NFL’s concussion protocol after a Week 15 loss and Jones pulled up with a hamstring issue in the game.

Cornerback Tyson Campbell and safety Andre Cisco both missed the loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The other four players who were limited Wednesday —  Christian Braswell, Ezra Cleveland, Walker Little, and Brenton Strange — were all questionable for the game. Cleveland and Little were active and exited without further injury, according to Jaguars coach Doug Pederson, while Braswell and Strange didn’t play.

For the Buccaneers, seven players were listed on the Wednesday report, but four practiced fully.

A week ago, Tampa Bay ruled out two players, listed two as doubtful, and had four questionable players for a Week 15 game against the Green Bay Packers.

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Jaguars vs. Ravens inactives: Walker Little, Ezra Cleveland active

The Jaguars will have the left side of their offensive line in tact Sunday night against the Ravens.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will have starting offensive linemen Walker Little and Ezra Cleveland in the lineup Sunday night against the Baltimore Ravens.

Ninety minutes ahead of kickoffs, the Jaguars announced six inactives:

Both Tyson Campbell and Andre Cisco were ruled out Friday in the team’s final injury report of the week due to quad and groin injuries, respectively. Brenton Strange’s inactive status isn’t surprising either after the team elevated tight end Josh Pederson from the practice squad Saturday.

Jacksonville had seven players listed as questionable, but only two of them will sit out Sunday: Strange and cornerback Christian Braswell who wasn’t activated from the injured reserve.

For the Ravens, all eyes were on defensive back Kyle Hamilton, who was questionable. He is active and will play Sunday:

Kickoff is scheduled for 8:20 p.m. ET.

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Jaguars rule out 2, list 7 as questionable vs. Ravens in Week 15

The Jaguars will be without starting defensive backs Tyson Campbell and Andre Cisco on Sunday.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will be without two starting defensive backs Sunday night when they play the Baltimore Ravens.

On Friday, the team ruled out cornerback Tyson Campbell and safety Andre Cisco. Second-year cornerback Montaric “Buster” Brown will likely fill in for Campbell and veteran safety Andrew “Dewey” Wingard will probably step in for Cisco.

Another seven Jaguars players are questionable for the Week 15 primetime contest.

Both Jamal Agnew and Christian Braswell are still on injured reserve and had their 21-day practice windows opened earlier this month. If either is available Sunday, that’ll likely be revealed Saturday when the Jaguars decide whether or not they’ll move one or both of them to the active roster.

It’d be a surprise if veteran defensive back Tre Herndon is unavailable after Doug Pederson said earlier Friday that he has cleared concussion protocol and “should be good to go.”

For Baltimore, only two players are questionable and all eyes are on the status of Kyle Hamilton.

During a press conference Friday, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said that Hamilton is “in a good place right now,” but also said “we’ll see how he does the next couple days.” The second-year safety has two interceptions, three sacks, and nine tackles for a loss so far in 2023.

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11 Jaguars players limited, none sit out Thursday practice

The Jaguars had everyone on the practice field Thursday, although 11 were limited.

The Jacksonville Jaguars had full attendance at their Thursday practice with defensive backs Tyson Campbell and Andre Cisco back on the field after sitting out Wednesday.

It wasn’t exactly a healthy day of work for the team ahead of a Week 15 game against the Baltimore Ravens, though. Jacksonville listed 11 players as limited, including Campbell and Cisco.

During a Week 14 loss to the Cleveland Browns, the Jaguars were without Folorunso Fatukasi, Tre Herndon, Walker Little, and Brenton Strange. All four of those players are still limited in practice, but appear well on track to return to the field sooner rather than later.

Quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence and C.J. Beathard again appeared on the injury report, but both were full participants.

Like Wednesday, the Ravens had an exceedingly brief injury report with only one player limited Thursday.

Baltimore safety Kyle Hamilton was wearing a brace on his injured left knee in practice and told reporters Wednesday that his status for Week 15 is still “up in the air.”

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