Who needs a kicker anyway? The Jaguars made a further roster move on Tuesday, cutting kicker Ryan Santoso. The news was first broke by Team reporter Ashlyn Williams. A four-year veteran, Santoso had seemingly secured the kicking job after seeing off both Andrew Mevis and Elliott Fry so far this preseason. Freeing up a roster spot, Jacksonville opted to bring back quarterback Jake Luton, who was a victim of the first round of cuts last week. Swapping a kicker for a quarterback isn’t in itself a surprise. But what is surprising, is that The Jaguars now have zero kickers on their roster.
ZERO.
Don’t panic though folks. Considering the team’s continued redzone struggles this preseason, there’s absolutely no way Doug Pederson tries to reinvent the game of football. Competition was always likely to have been sought for Santoso, who hasn’t particulaly shined in exhibition games. He had a mixed outing against the Steelers on Saturday, converting two of his four field goals. But it seems that the coaching staff are now resigned to the fact that the man with the moustache simply isn’t up to the job.
It will be interesting to see who GM Trent Baalke identifies as a better option. There is already a groundswell of demand from Jaguars fans on social media to bring Josh Lambo back to the team. This is rather unlikely, considering Lambo sued the team for wrongful dismissal after his turbulent relationship with Urban Meyer last year. No doubt The Jags will target kickers released from other rosters as they attempt to improve their special teams.
Santoso Out, Luton In
Officially, this is the third time Jake Luton has signed with the Jaguars. On the team earlier this year, Luton started the Hall of Fame game to open preseason, as Trevor Lawrence was rested and CJ Beathard rehabilitated a groin injury. Despite arguably being outplayed by teammate Kyle Sloter, it was the former USFL quarterback who lost his job – with Doug Pederson opting to bring back UDFA rookie EJ Perry last week.
Luton fared similarly against the Browns a week later as the third string QB. Despite Perry not taking a snap, Luton was let go, reducing the number of quarterbacks to three. Now he’s back on the roster, and it’s fair to wonder why. Despite Beathard struggling to move the chains in the exhibition games, he’s the clear backup to Lawrence. That leaves Luton & Perry battling for the QB3 job, and it looked like that decision had already been made.
One of these guys are going to be cut. AGAIN. The other may make the roster, or more likely be shipped to the practice squad. In the meantime, The Jags seem to be hoping they find a cast-off that can improve their kicking game. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. If no gems can be found, the Jaguars might be going for two a lot more this season.
UPDATE: The Jaguars have claimed Chargers kicker James McCourt off waivers:
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