Latest news with #MaasonSmith
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Jacksonville Jaguars DL Maason Smith placed on active/PUP list ahead of training camp
Jacksonville Jaguars defensive lineman Maason Smith will begin training camp on the team's Active/Physically Unable to Perform list, the team announced Tuesday. Players are placed on active/PUP ahead of camp for football-related injuries and are unable to participate in practice. However, they can participate in other team activities. The players count against the active roster limit during camp and can be activated from the list at any point during camp if they are medically cleared. In addition to Smith, the team placed linebacker Dennis Gardeck on the team's active/PUP list over the weekend. Gardeck was signed as an unrestricted free agent earlier this spring. He sustained a late-season knee injury (ACL) last year as a member of the Arizona Cardinals. ROOKIES REPORT: Jaguars rookies report training camp. What to watch from Travis Hunter, others The news came hours after the team's veterans reported for camp. The Jaguars are set to hit the practice fields on Wednesday, May 23. Jaguars rookies reported for camp over the weekend. Smith, drafted in the second round in 2024, is expected to have a major role with the team this season and moving forward. Smith had a shaky start to his rookie campaign. He was a healthy scratch in Week 2 and was sidelined for five other contests in part due to a lingering ankle injury. When he returned, Smith played with more consistency. He totaled two sacks, 12 tackles, three quarterback hits and two pass breakups in six games. Smith played in 11 total games (five starts), accounting for 17 tackles, three tackles for loss, four quarterback hits and three sacks. Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Demetrius82 or on Bluesky @ Demetrius. If you're a subscriber, thank you. If not, please consider becoming a subscriber to support local journalism in Northeast Florida. This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars' Maason Smith placed on active/PUP list to begin training camp
USA Today
28-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Jacksonville Jaguars DL Maason Smith weighs in on new defensive scheme
Jacksonville Jaguars DL Maason Smith weighs in on new defensive scheme Jacksonville Jaguars' DT Maason Smith weighs in on the new defensive scheme under Anthony Campanile. Under new defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile, the Jacksonville Jaguars' defensive front will have the opportunity to play a lot more freely. As second-year defensive tackle Maason Smith described at Tuesday's OTA practice, rather than reading and reacting to what's taking place, it's now all about getting off the ball and into the backfield. "I feel like we able to just play a lot more free instead of more laterally," Smith said via News4JAX. "The coaches have told us from the first time they got here, they want to have more go, more getting off the ball, more penetration, whereas last year we were kind of playing more on the line of scrimmage." Collectively in 2025, the Jaguars need more from their defensive front. This was a unit last season that ranked 27th in ESPN's run-stop rate metric and 32nd in pass rush win rate. Smith would appear in 11 games as a rookie, totaling 14 pressures and three sacks. By PFF's pass rush win rate metric, Smith ranked 99th among defensive tackles, and in run-stop rate, he ranked 124th. Those metrics aren't the be-all-end-all by any means, but in totality, the Jaguars need more from the defensive front, and a big jump in Year 2 from Smith will be an important part of that equation. "It's kind of the same technique," Smith continued, "but it's just more go, however you see fit kind of thing. If you take a shot, make it. If you miss it, that's on you. But you know what I'm saying, you got that kind of leeway to make those plays and kind of see it as you fit." The thought throughout the offseason was that the Jaguars were going to add to the defensive line heavily, specifically the defensive tackle position, but that never materialized. However, the fact that no such move ever happened in free agency or the NFL draft tells us the confidence that GM James Gladstone has in Smith, the other defensive tackles on the roster, and Campanile's defensive system. "We certainly look forward to seeing guys being in different positions than they've been in the past and that being an element that activates different sides of them," Gladstone said after the NFL draft, via the team site. "Their whole approach has been great so far, so we're looking forward to it."
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Can Maason Smith fix the Jaguars' defensive line woes?
This dead horse has been beaten all offseason long, especially so by me, however, the point still remains. The Jaguars need some help along their defensive interior. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Whether it is the team's 32nd ranked interior pressure rate or the fact that Roy Robertson-Harris led all Jaguars' defensive tackles in sacks until Week 17, despite playing for the Seahawks, the Jaguars DTs simply weren't even close to good enough in 2024. It isn't all doom and gloom, however. Arik Amrstead figures to slide back inside to his more natural position. That alone should do wonders for the team's pass-rush. Maason Smith also looks to build upon his impressive finish to his rookie season. Despite a ROUGH season defensively, Smith was a bright spot in the back half of the season. Early season healthy-scratches and injuries stood in his way early on, however, in week 13 Smith got hot and would stay hot until the end of the season. Over the course of the first 12 weeks, Smith played just 136 snaps, accumulating three pressures in six games played. In week 13 everything changed as Smith saw 39 snaps. The next week Smith would be named one of the Jaguars' two starting defensive tackles. His play certainly was that of an average, starting defensive tackle from a pass-rush perspective. From week 13 on, Smith racked up 11 pressures, tied for 32nd among defensive tackles. His pressures also ranked second among rookie DTs. Smith didn't just pressure the quarterback either, he ended up finishing 3rd on the team in sacks (3.0), behind Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker. That's unquestionably an impressive feat considering he only started five games, missed half the season, and was just a rookie. His two sacks from between week 13 and week 18 were tied for 14th among defensive tackles and tied for second for rookies. It helps that he finally got the opportunity to see the field consistently, totaling 248 snaps over the last six games. It might also speak to how poor the rest of the team was. The Jaguars will bring back the majority of their defensive line from last year. DaVon Hamilton, Arik Armstead, and Maason Smith figure to fight for the starting spots unless the Jaguars look to defensive tackle early in the 2025 NFL Draft. While Hamilton doesn't offer much as a pass-rusher, his dominance in the run-game is still incredibly valuable. If Armstead and Smith can get going, this Jaguars' interior could look markedly better, even without the use of a top draft selection at the position. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
