Former All-Pro Available if Jaguars' Special Teams Aren't Special Enough

Training Camp for all NFL teams is an opportunity to put together a team that will include the best possible stable of players built for a chance to win every week. However, constructing a top-flight special teams unit is far more complicated.

Of course, a team's kicker, punter, and long snapper are excluded from the complication. The kickoff, coverage, and return units are typically made up of players from the bottom half of the roster. Some decisions are made based on keeping certain players on the roster. Sometimes, but not always, for the best of the position rooms, but not always to the benefit of the Special Teams Coach and his unit.

In Jacksonville, Coach Luke Farwell has embraced the difficulties of coaching ST units.

"Every year, the cliché is ‘the roster changes every year,’ especially on special teams," said Farwell in an offseason interview. "We’re going to have to bring up some young guys, we’re going to lose a player or two because of free agency or whatever that looks like. We’re going to have to develop more players and we’re going to do that. Whether it's a rookie or a practice squad guy, young player, let's get the most out of them.”

While the Jacksonville Jaguars are welcoming back, in 2025, core special teamers such as Andrew Wigard and Daniel Thomas, among others, the unit will mostly be made up of rookies like Rayuan Lane III and Jack Kiser, and practice squad guys as well.

While they will look in-house to fill the remainder of the squad, a certain standout special teamer has suddenly become available, who General Manager James Gladstone could benefit by keeping tabs on during the next six to eight weeks.

On Monday, the San Francisco 49ers released two-time All-Pro Bowl Special Teamer George Odum one day after placing the 31-year-old on the active/non-football injury list. Odum is still recovering from an elbow injury, for which he underwent surgery in June. ESPN's Ian Rapoport recently reported that Odum is expected to sign with another team upon being cleared to return.

Why not the Jaguars?

Odum entered the league first with the Indianapolis Colts in 2018, being named a first-team All-Pro in 2020. With the 49ers since 2022, Odum was named a second-team All-Pro that first season in San Francisco.

The Jaguars' evaluations have been in full force since before offseason programs, and should Farwell not be completely satisfied with his group, calling George Odum could be a smart move during the first month of the 2025 season.

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