Defensive lineman Arik Armstead hasn’t been on the field yet this summer, but it looks like it won’t be too much longer before he’s given the green light to practice.
Armstead played through a torn meniscus in his knee while playing for the 49ers down the stretch last season and had surgery to repair the injury after the Super Bowl. The Jaguars signed Armstead after the 49ers released him in a cap-saving move in March and placed him on the physically unable to perform list to open camp.
On Monday, Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said that Armstead won’t be cleared ahead of Saturday’s preseason opener against the Chiefs, but that he doesn’t expect the team will have to make do without the veteran for too much longer.
“Not for the game. But obviously, we’re getting close. We’re getting close,” Pederson said, via John Shipley of SI.com.
The Jaguars hope Armstead will provide an interior threat to go along with edge rushers Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker this season and a first look at how that partnership will fare could be coming in the near future.
The Eagles are kicking off the week by making an addition on the defensive side of the ball.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that they are going to sign linebacker Shaquille Quarterman to their 90-man roster. There’s no word about a corresponding move to create room for Quarterman in Philly.
Quarterman was a 2020 fourth-round pick by the Jaguars and spent his first four seasons in Jacksonville. He appeared in 65 games over the course of that run, but never made a start on defense and saw almost all of his playing time on special teams.
Quarterman recorded 55 tackles and a forced fumble in those appearances.
Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson coached his son in three games last season, but it doesn’t look like that will happen again this year.
The team announced on Saturday that they have waived tight end Josh Pederson with an injury designation. Pederson, who hurt his ankle in practice this week, will revert to injured reserve if he goes unclaimed and players that go on injured reserve before the cut to 53 players are not eligible to return during the regular season. He could also be released with an injury settlement if he recovers enough to play again.
Jacksonville also announced that they have signed running back Gary Brightwell and tight end Chris Myarick. The two players were teammates with the Giants the last three seasons.
Brightwell had 41 carries for 164 yards and a touchdown in 37 games for the Giants while Myarick had 10 catches for 82 yards and three touchdowns.
Running back Lorenzo Lingard was waived to round out the day’s moves.
As the first overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft, Jaguars defensive end Travon Walker was a disappointment as a rookie, and his second season did not get off to a good start. But down the stretch last year he finally became a consistent pass rusher, finished 2023 with 10 sacks, and he says he’s a different player heading into Year Three.
“I want to do what helps my team win game and obviously being consistent is No. 1 thing,” Walker said, via Jaguars.com. “The end of last season, it just kind of helped me play a lot more freely. Now going into my Year 3, it’s about me putting all the pieces together from my Year 1 and Year 2. Now I feel like I’m able to just go out there and play ball without as much thinking.”
New Jaguars defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen has Walker lining up as a pure defensive end, and Walker says that’s perfect for his skill set.
“We’re playing straightforward, and I feel like with me playing with my hand in the dirt, I feel a lot more explosive,” he said. “It’s been great working with Ryan. He’s one of those guys that always gives the ‘why’ on why we’re doing something, so that helps make it a little bit easier on us. Just going ahead and believing in him, and obviously he has the tape to back it up with other players as well.”
It’s a big year for Walker, as the Jaguars will decide after this season whether to pick up the fifth-year option on his contract. He wants to show the Jaguars made the right choice when they took him with the first overall pick in the draft.
The Jaguars are dealing with another injury along their offensive line.
Via multiple reporters on the scene, left tackle Cam Robinson had to exit Friday’s practice early due to a shoulder injury.
The injury’s severity is currently unclear.
Robinson, 28, appeared in nine games last season, limited by a suspension and a knee injury.
Jacksonville was already dealing with an injury to the team’s other starting tackle, as Anton Harrison is in the concussion protocol.
Additionally, Jaguars tight end Patrick Murtagh went down with what appeared to be a significant ankle injury during Friday’s session. His right foot was placed in an air cast and he was carted off the field.
Via Demetrius Harvey of Jacksonville.com, tight end Josh Pederson also suffered an ankle injury on Friday and did not return to practice. Though De’Shaan Dixon sustained an ankle injury, he was able to return.
Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson gave a couple of negative injury updates at his Friday press conference.
Pederson said that right tackle Anton Harrison is in the concussion protocol after suffering a head injury in practice this week. Pederson said Harrison will be out for at least a couple more days because of the concussion.
The 2023 first-round pick started every game as a rookie and had shoulder surgery during the offseason.
While the Jags expect Harrison back in the near future, it will be a longer wait for safety Andrew Wingard. Pederson said Wingard is set to miss “significant time” after hurting his knee and that he could be out into the regular season.
The Jaguars announced five roster moves Tuesday.
They officially signed defensive end Rasheem Green, defensive end Raymond Johnson and linebacker Tanner Muse. Jacksonville waived defensive end Andre Carter and linebacker Trey Kiser in corresponding moves.
The Seahawks made Green a third-round pick in 2018, and he spent four seasons in Seattle. He played 53 games with 24 starts for the Seahawks. Green then went to the Texans in 2022, the Bears in 2023 and now the Jaguars for this season.
Johnson originally signed with the Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2021. He appeared in 15 games as a rookie and totaled four tackles, a sack, a quarterback hit and a tackle for loss. He also spent time on the practice squads of the Bengals (2022) and Lions (2023).
Muse entered the NFL as a third-round pick of the Raiders in 2020. He has appeared in games for the Seahawks (2021-22) and the Chargers (2023). His career totals include 33 games played, nine tackles and one pass defensed, along with 12 tackles on special teams.
The Jaguars are signing free agent defensive end Rasheem Green to a one-year deal, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
It’s the fourth team in four seasons for Green.
The Seahawks made him a third-round pick in 2018, and he spent four seasons in Seattle. He played 53 games with 24 starts for the Seahawks.
Green then went to the Texans in 2022, the Bears in 2023 and now the Jaguars for this season.
Chicago used him as a rotational rusher in all 17 games last season, and he totaled two sacks and five quarterback hits.
Green has 151 tackles, 19 sacks, 40 quarterback hits and 19 tackles for loss in his career.
The Jaguars are adding a player who’s likely to contribute on special teams.
Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, Jacksonville is signing linebacker Tanner Muse.
Muse, a Raiders third-round pick in 2020, appeared in 10 games for the Chargers last year. He played 73 percent of the special teams snaps in games played.
In 2021, Must appeared in all 17 games for the Seahawks with one start. He played 70 percent of special teams snaps and seven percent of defensive snaps for the club.
Jaguars receiver Christian Kirk wasn’t able to play the last five games of the 2023 season due to a core muscle injury, but he still feels bitter about the way Jacksonville’s year ended.
The club lost five of its last six games to end the year 9-8 and miss the postseason after starting 8-3. In his Monday press conference, Kirk said that reality has “100 percent” ratcheted up the urgency for training camp this year.
“I feel like I’m a little bit more — not on the edge, but I’ve got a little bit more of a bite to me this year just with my sense of urgency within practice of just not only pushing myself, but everybody else around me,” Kirk said.”Basically saying, we can’t wait. We can’t wait for the opportunity to come to us. We’ve got to go take it.
“It’s just coming out every single day with the vision of what we have for ourselves in mind and also what happened to us last year, having that bad taste in our mouth because what happened last year is unacceptable and it’s not what we want to do here as a team and as an organization. It’s really just having that chip on our shoulder and just taking that and using it in our day-to-day practice.”
Kirk, 27, caught 57 passes for 787 yards with three touchdowns in 12 games last season. In his first season with Jacksonville in 2021, he had 84 receptions for 1,108 yards with eight TDs.