Treadwell & Shenault Jr.

JT: 53-Man Roster Update, a Wide Receiver Shuffle

I was a bit taken by surprise when the Jaguars announced yesterday evening that they released wide receiver, Laquon Treadwell. I was shocked because JaguarsTalk felt that he earned a wide receiver spot over Laviska Shenault Jr. Surely, Jacksonville released Treadwell to make room for Viska. Nope, shortly after the news that Treadwell was released the Jags announced that Laviska Shenault was traded to the Carolina Panthers. No word on what JAX received in return, however. This is the time when JaguarsTalk figured Head Coach Doug Pederson was making roster room for Kevin Austin Jr., the undrafted wide receiver out of Notre Dame. But a quick glance at ESPNs depth chart for JAX tells us that Austin is no longer on the team. It seems that either ESPN is updated more quickly than Jaguars.com, or ESPN is making their own guesses much like JaguarsTalk did yesterday.

ESPN currently has the Jags receivers as Christian Kirk, Marvin Jones Jr., Zay Jones, Tim Jones, Jamal Agnew, Jeff Cotton Jr and Willie Johnson. We have two questions. I wonder if they are going to carry seven WRs or will Willie be cut? Can we just name all our WRs “Jones” to make things easier for the guys in the booth?” We will wait to see what happens at 4pm today, but on this early Tuesday morning JaguarsTalk is curious as to what this final team will look like. We are also curious as to what Carolina gave up for Viska. JaguarsTalk figures that JAX feels the offer from Carolina for Laviska Shenault was better than what Viska would do on the field if given a roster spot and better than releasing him. So, they traded Laviska Shenault for a lower round future draft pick AND freed up a roster spot for another player who will perform just as well or better than Viska would have. When thought through, it sounds like a solid decision.

I like my columns like I like my motocross, quick and dirty. It’s a short one, but we are preparing for some big news this afternoon. Stay tuned to JaguarsTalk, folks.  Let us know your thoughts on the 4pm deadline today in the comments section below.