Jaguars fortify D-line with former Patriots
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Respect is reflected in many ways. The Jacksonville Jaguars are showing theirs for the New England Patriots by plucking the latter's leavings off the waiver wire.
Earlier this week, the Jags snagged defensive end Brandon Deadrick after he was waived by the Patriots. On Thursday, Jacksonville was awarded defensive tackle Kyle Love, waived the day before by New England.
Deaderick was a seventh-round pick of New England in 2010 and played in 34 games with 14 starts the past three years. He had 51 tackles and five sacks and started at least four games in all three seasons.
The Jaguars do have needs on the defensive line, so this wasn't simply a matter of any random Patriots trash becoming the Jaguars' treasure.
Jacksonville had one of the weakest pass rushes in the NFL last season, which is why they wanted at least a look at Deadrick. And with former first-round pick Tyson Alualu probably moving from defensive tackle to end, the addition of Love is a natural.
"We felt in the defensive line he had the most ability to play multiple positions, to give us different looks," head coach Gus Bradley said when asked this week about Alualu's move. "We want to try him out there and he's all in favor of it."
The Patriots parted ways on Wednesday with the 26-year-old Love, citing medical uncertainty, after he was diagnosed with Type-2 diabetes earlier in May and reportedly lost 20 pounds. But his agent, Richard Kopelman, expects Love to be healthy soon and ready for the 2013 season.
There was some conjecture that waiving Love was either actionable or against CBA rules -- or both -- if diabetes was the reason.
Regardless, NFL.com reported that the Jaguars were the only team to make a claim on Love. Love, whose forte is as a run defender, started 12 games each of the past two seasons for the Patriots and logged 58 tackles and 4.5 sacks.
