Jaguars Place tight end Julius Thomas, DE Jared Odrick on IR
By Matt Kerns
A reeling Jacksonville Jaguars team takes two more blows as they place two starters on Injured Reserve, effectively ending their seasons.
The two vets who both were brought in via free agency won’t see any more playing time this year. Tight end Julius Thomas has been dealing with a back injury this season and has started just six games, playing in nine total. Jared Odrick has started in all of the games he’s been available for (6) and was placed on IR with a shoulder injury.
Thomas was brought in during the 2015 free agency period with hopes of adding to the arsenal of weapons for quarterback Blake Bortles. Though, that hasn’t exactly panned out. Injuries have derailed his value and the 2x Pro Bowler has been a shell of what he was in Denver. Lackluster QB play definitely is to be taken into consideration when evaluating Thomas’s season. This year, he finished with just 281 yards, 30 receptions and four TD’s, a few that were in pure garbage time.
Defensive lineman Odrick also hasn’t lived up to the same level that he flashed in Miami, where he exhibited traits of a dominant interior lineman and disruptive pass rusher. Unfortunately for Jacksonville, those same traits weren’t brought over to the Jags as Odrick hasn’t been the same player as he was in Miami.
Any coincidence these two stars have had their careers fall off the rails a bit since joining Jacksonville? Both are 28 and still have quality football left in them. If the Jags were to cut both players ahead of next year’s season, they would save some $13 million dollars. It’s evident that the Jags will likely clean house at the coaching level (and perhaps management as well), so personnel could be dictated on whoever is running the team next season.
A new coach could get the best of these two players. Instead of asking Thomas to block as much as he has this year, they could spread him out wide where he’s more dynamic as a pass catcher. For Odrick, getting him outside as a 4-3 edge defender, like where he was in Miami, could help his cause. Too many times this season they have asked Odrick to be shuffled around along the line.
Who knows what will happen with these two players. Both are quality players who have played to a high caliber level at one point in their careers. A change of scenery could be what the doctor ordered for these men — or a change in coach. This season was one both will want to forget though, as the Jaguars failed to live up to any expectations in 2016.