Jaguars sign former Packers third-round pick

By the looks of it, Josiah Deguara will be competing for a spot on a 53-man roster this summer.

Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has hit on a lot of draft picks recently. Former third-round pick Josiah Deguara was not one of them. After being selected in 2020 as an undersized tight end, Deguara only managed to start 10 games for Green Bay during his rookie contract.

Now, according to Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz, Deguara will sign with the Jacksonville Jaguars for a new start. Per Schultz, Deguara will be signing a one-year deal with the team, presumably as a special teamer with the upside to play some limited offensive snaps.

Over the last three seasons with the Packers, Deguara’s snap counts on the offensive side of the ball steadily dropped from 367 in 2021 to 196 in 2023. Meanwhile, he was able to be on the field for 57 percent of Green Bay’s special teams reps in 2023, good for the third-most of any player on the team and first among offensive players.

Once the Packers re-signed tight end Tyler Davis, who missed all of last season after he tore his ACL in the summer, it was always going to be unlikely that Green Bay was going to bring Deguara back. Along with Davis, who the Packers have consistently called a leader on their special teams units, they’ll return 2023 rookies Luke Musgrave, Tucker Kraft and Ben Sims at the tight end position for 2024.

In total, Deguara’s 50 career games with the Packers, 48 of which came after his rookie season, will boil down to 47 receptions made for 436 yards and two touchdowns. He also made six tackles on special teams.

Jacksonville’s depth chart will make it hard for Deguara to see the field on the offensive side of the ball, as long as everyone is healthy. The team’s number one tight end is Evan Engram, who signed a $41.25 million contract in 2023. Behind Engram are former draft picks Brenton Strange (second-round pick, 2023) and Luke Farrell (fifth-round pick, 2021), along with head coach Doug Pederson’s son Josh Pederson — who joined the team in 2023. Don’t be surprised if the final tight end position on the Jaguars’ roster comes down to Pederson, a former Packer himself, deciding whether or not to let go of his son or Deguara.