Tuesday was the deadline for NFL teams to cut their rosters down to 53 players, and while hundreds of players were let go, one on the Jacksonville Jaguars stuck out more than the rest thanks to head coach Dough Pederson.
Pederson helped lead the Jagaurs to the playoffs last season in his first year as head coach, going 9-8 with a wild card win over the Chargers. This offseason, Pederson had a player on his team named Josh, who just so happens to have the same last name as him.
That's because his own son was on the team.
Josh, 25, was undrafted out of Louisiana-Monroe in 2021. Throughout his football career, he's spent time with the San Francisco 49ers, New Orleans Saints, Kansas City Chiefs, and the Houston Gamblers of the USFL.
This time, he found himself at tight end and long snapper on his dad's team. Unfortunately, the Jaguars have the long snapper position locked down with Ross Matsick, and their tight end depth features Evan Engram, Luke Farrell, and Brenton Strange.
You can see where this is going—Pederson cut his son from yesterday's roster.
Jags HC Doug Pederson had to cut his own son, Josh, from the team's roster today ? pic.twitter.com/w1iGVbicFx
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 29, 2023
During the preseason, Pederson saw just one target and ran 17 routes. He did some blocking, too, primarily in the run game, where he played 31 snaps, per Pro Football Focus.
He filled in as a long snapper, but that's not something he was accustomed to and we saw the inexperience on display earlier this preseason against the Dallas Cowboys.
This high snap on the Punt came by Josh Pederson, son of head coach Doug Pederson.. pic.twitter.com/mWYpGTww0o
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) August 12, 2023
The NFL is a tough business, of course, but you can't help but feel for both Pederson's here. That said, you know that this move will gain Pederson even more respect in the locker room.
Let's hope Josh can continue to grind and potentially make a team next offseason.
