Jaguars sign TE James O’Shaughnessy: Grade, reaction, analysis

The Jacksonville Jaguars have numbers at tight end, especially now that James O’Shaughnessy is coming back.

The Jacksonville Jaguars dipped into the free agent market for a tight end, signing former Dallas Cowboy Geoff Swaim. But on Thursday, they announced they have added another piece at the position by re-signing James O’Shaughnessy.

O’Shaughnessy spent the last two seasons with the Jaguars, setting career-high for catches (24) and yards (214) last year. He had taken a free agent visit with the Pittsburgh Steelers early in the week, but circled back to Jacksonville in pretty short order. Over 30 games for the Jaguars, O’Shaughnessy has 38 catches for 363 yards and one touchdown. He spent his first two NFL seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, after being a fifth-round pick out of Illinois State in 2015.

Contract Details

The terms of O’Shaughnessy’s deal have not yet been released. But it can be assumed to be a one-year deal, or a two-year deal at the most.

Reaction

In an interview clip released by the team, O’Shaughnessy professed how good a fit the Jaguars are for him.

Going further, O’Shaughnessy cited some unfinished business in Jacksonville.

The Jaguars now have four tight ends on their roster, with O’Shaughnessy joining Swaim, Ben Koyack and Pharoah McKever. But as John Oesher of Jaguars.com noted, O’Shaughnessy was a teammate of new starting quarterback Nick Foles in 2016 with the Chiefs. No one Jacksonville has right now is on that level, but Foles also targeted tight end Zach Ertz quite often when he stepped in under center for the Philadelphia Eagles.

His pass catching production may never be elite, but Pro Football Focus had O’Shaughnessy as the No. 2 run blocker among tight ends last season. He also led Jaguars’ tight ends in snaps (51.3 percent, according to Football Outsiders), and barring any further additions via the draft a similar role would be in store for 2019.