After going into last season with largely the same defense they trotted out in 2022, the Jaguars are making changes. Rayshawn Jenkins will be the latest Jacksonville cut on that side of the ball.
The Jags are releasing the veteran safety, per Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz, with this move following the cuts of Folorunso Fatukasi and Darious Williams. Not part of the Jags’ 2022 free agency splurge like Fatukasi or Williams, Jenkins has been with the team since 2021, working as a starter throughout his tenure.
Jenkins, who turned 30 earlier this year, was due to make $8M in base salary next season and carry a $12.3M cap number. Unless this is a post-June 1 cut, the Jags will eat a bit of dead money due to void years existing on the veteran DB’s contract. Jacksonville will save more than $5M while taking on just more than $7M in dead cap.
Signed to a four-year, $35M deal during Urban Meyer‘s offseason in charge, Jenkins came over from the Chargers and started every game he played as a Jaguar. That included 17-game seasons in each of the past two years. Jenkins intercepted five passes in that span, including a walk-off pick-six of Dak Prescott in a 40-34 Jags win in 2022. Pro Football Focus, however, rated the former fourth-round pick as one of the worst regular safeties over the past three seasons. The advanced metrics website slotted Jenkins outside the top 70 in each of his three Jacksonville seasons.
With the Jags firing most of their defensive staff shortly after a disappointing season, it is unsurprising they will look to add new starters ahead of Ryan Nielsen‘s first DC campaign. The team allowed at least 28 points five times after its Week 9 bye, leading to it going from contending for the AFC’s No. 1 seed to being bounced out of the playoffs. If this is a post-June 1 cut, Jenkins must remain on the Jags’ payroll until the start of the 2024 league year (March 13). If the team is moving on immediately, it will hold more than $34M in cap space.
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