Report: Jaguars officially sign veteran TE Jacob Hollister

The Jacksonville Jaguars added another weapon at a key position of need by bringing in former Buffalo Bills tight end Jacob Hollister. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that the Jags were expected to land the veteran on Thursday, and his colleague Mike Garafolo confirmed the official signing on Friday.

In Hollister, the Jags land a player who has been a solid backup tight end for Seattle the last two seasons. Originally an undrafted signee for the New England Patriots out of Wyoming, Hollister only made eight catches in his first 23 appearances. After the 2018 season, he was traded to Seattle, where he had the best season of his career.

He finished 2018 with 349 yards and three touchdowns, and though his yardage total dropped to 209 in 2020, he matched three scores again. This offseason, he signed a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills that reunited him with his college quarterback, Josh Allen, but in a bit of a surprising move, he didn’t make the Bills’ final roster.

The Jags will hope Hollister can be a solid role player for them now. James O’Shaughnessy could start, and the team added Chris Manhertz from Carolina this offseason. But Manhertz hasn’t been asked to do much in the passing game throughout his career, and the presence of Hollister gives rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence another receiving threat.

The Jags also have tight end Luke Farrell on the roster, but the rookie was almost exclusively a blocker in college at Ohio State.

Hollister is a solid pickup who should help this team’s depth at its biggest positional weakness considerably, though O’Shaughnessy is likely still the top target at the spot.

In Hollister, the Jags land a player who has been a solid backup tight end for Seattle the last two seasons. Originally an undrafted signee for the New England Patriots out of Wyoming, Hollister only made eight catches in his first 23 appearances. After the 2018 season, he was traded to Seattle, where he had the best season of his career.

He finished 2018 with 349 yards and three touchdowns, and though his yardage total dropped to 209 in 2020, he matched three scores again. This offseason, he signed a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills that reunited him with his college quarterback, Josh Allen, but in a bit of a surprising move, he didn’t make the Bills’ final roster.

The Jags will hope Hollister can be a solid role player for them now. James O’Shaughnessy could start, and the team added Chris Manhertz from Carolina this offseason. But Manhertz hasn’t been asked to do much in the passing game throughout his career, and the presence of Hollister gives rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence another receiving threat.

The Jags also have tight end Luke Farrell on the roster, but the rookie was almost exclusively a blocker in college at Ohio State.

Hollister is a solid pickup who should help this team’s depth at its biggest positional weakness considerably, though O’Shaughnessy is likely still the top target at the spot.

The Jags placed receiver Tavon Austin on injured reserve on Thursday, so the Jags’ active roster was at 52 players before the signing of Hollister. As a result, it appears the Jags won’t need to make any roster cuts with the signing.