Ex-Viking Latches onto Jaguars Roster
Dustin Baker
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The Jacksonville Jaguars became one of the NFL’s darlings in 2022, tallying a 9-8 record after a 2-6 start to the season, an AFC South crown, and notching one of the most impressive comebacks in NFL history in the playoffs over the Los Angeles Chargers in January.
Ex-Viking Latches onto Jaguars Roster
They’ll hope to repeat as division champs this year and perhaps win an extra postseason game while promising young quarterback Trevor Lawrence continues his trek to inevitable stardom.
And on a more unsung note last week, Jacksonville added a depth offensive lineman who was a member of the Vikings earlier this summer — offensive tackle Bobby Evans.
Evans joined the Vikings roster last January when Pro Bowl right tackle Brian O’Neill was lost for the remainder of the season with a partially torn Achilles. His contract expired after the 2022 season, but Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah brought Evans back on July 25th when training camp began.
That didn’t last long, though, as Evans was released on August 3rd when Adofo-Mensah added two different tackles, Christain DiLauro and Jarrid Williams.
Selected in the 3rd Round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Rams, Evans arrived in the NFL from the University of Oklahoma and has played in 35 games while starting 12. He participated in the Rams 2021 Super Bowl triumph over the Cincinnati Bengals: four snaps in special teams action. Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell offensively coordinated those Super Bowl-winning Rams.
To date, Evans has been a part of 878 career offensive snaps and played 314 snaps in 2022 with the Rams. The man is experienced, particularly as of late.
He’ll now vie for a regular season roster spot among these Jaguars offensive tackles:
- Walker Little
- Anton Harrison
- Coy Cronk
- Josh Wells
- Cole Van Lanen
- Bobby Evans
And here is Evans’ Pro Football Focus resume since entering the league:
2019 = 49.4
2020 = 60.0 (hardly played)
2021 = 48.2
2022 = 29.8
Had Evans qualified for PFF’s minimum snap count, he would’ve ranked as the worst offensive tackle in the league this season. His pass-blocking grade of 16.4 was especially head-scratching. Most NFL teams keep less than six OTs on the final active roster, so Evans should be considered a longshot to remain on Jacksonville’s depth chart for the regular season.
Evans, 26, was teammates with Mark Andrews, Baker Mayfield, Joe Mixon, and Kyler Murray at Oklahoma. He was also a member of Sooner teams with former Vikings Dru Samia and Dede Westbrook.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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