Good news: A player who announced his retirement will have another opportunity to play for the Jaguars.
After eight seasons marred by injuries, veteran center Brandon Linder of the Jacksonville Jaguars announced his retirement on Monday.
Before announcing his retirement from the NFL on Instagram, Linder thought about his decision for more than a week. He wrote, “It is at this time I have decided to close this chapter of my life.”
I appreciate you viewing.
“I am grateful to be able to fulfill my goal of retiring a lifetime Jaguar,” wrote the writer. “I’ll always call Jacksonville home. I am eager to pursue new goals and am anticipating all the wonderful things that the future holds.”
About an hour before the league’s new year officially began, Linder and Trent Baalke, general manager of the Jaguars, met at the facility on March 16. Originally planned to be a face-to-face release for Linder, Baalke consented to give the five-time team captain some time to consider his options, including retirement or trying to play elsewhere.
After 88 games, all starts for the Jaguars, Linder made the decision to retire.
In 2014, Jacksonville selected him from Miami in the third round of the draft. However, the native of Florida missed 41 games due to a variety of ailments, including problems with his back, ankle, shoulder, and knees. Over the previous four seasons, he has missed 22 games, spending two of them on injured reserve.
He was about to enter the last year of a deal that, prior to the 2017 campaign, had included a five-year, $51.7 million extension. Over the course of eight years, Jacksonville paid him over $44 million, or about $500,000 for each game he actually participated in.
It was his obligation to deduct $9.53 million from the salary cap. After spending $260 million, including more than $155 million in guaranteed money, to add seven potential starters in free agency, the Jaguars had made the decision to let go. After years of wasted draft picks, Jacksonville now has an opportunity to improve rapidly thanks to the spending binge.
Re-signing veteran backup center Tyler Shatley to a two-year, $4.8 million contract was one of the team’s roster changes under new coach Doug Pederson and Baalke last month. Shatley joined the team as an undrafted rookie in 2014 and has since participated in 111 games, 33 of which he has started. For the last eight games of the previous season, he started in Linder’s place.
Reuniting with Shatley was one of several moves aimed at strengthening a defense that gave rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence 32 sacks in 2021.
