The Jaguars announced Thursday that former Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Darqueze Dennard will not be signing with the franchise as the two sides could not come to an agreement on final contract terms.
Last Thursday, the Jaguars officially announced they had agreed to terms with Dennard on a three-year contract.
Though Dennard, 28, played mostly nickel corner for the Bengals, he was expected to play outside cornerback for the Jaguars.
In a statement released by the Jaguars last week, Coach Doug Marrone said they felt good about Dennard’s skill level and that he’s a press corner who wants to play outside.
?He wants to prove that he can do it, and we believe that he can, so it was a good fit for us,? Marrone said. ?D.J. Hayden is our starting nickel corner. I talked to D.J., and we’re extremely happy with him in that spot.?
The Jaguars did not disclose what was the sticking point in final negotiations that could not be worked out.
Now, Dennard remains an unrestricted free agent.
Dennard began last season on the Bengals’ physically unable to perform list because of a knee injury before playing in nine games with five starts. He totaled 37 tackles (25 solo) with five pass breakups.
He played in all 16 games for the first time in his career in 2017 and finished second on the team with 83 tackles while leading the team with two interceptions and leading the secondary with two sacks.
The Jaguars signed eight-year veteran cornerback Rashaan Melvin Tuesday. Melvin, 30, started 12 of 13 games last season for the Detroit Lions and made a career-high 68 tackles with 11 pass breakups and no interceptions.
Melvin played for Baltimore (2014-15), New England (2015), Indianapolis (2016-17) and Oakland (2018).
Melvin could possibly compete for the starting outside cornerback spot now with Dennard no longer in the Jaguars’ plans.
Cornerbacks already on the roster are Tre Herndon; Brandon Watson; Parry Nickerson, Jayson Stanley and Hayden.
Also, the Jaguars could use one of their two first-round picks to select a cornerback. Some mock drafts have the Jaguars selecting former Florida cornerback C.J. Henderson with the 20th overall pick in the first round.
The Jaguars announced Thursday they signed first-year wide receiverTerry Godwin, who spent most of last season on the team’ practice squad.
Godwin was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the seventh round (237th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft . After getting waived, he was signed to the Jaguars’ practice squad last September.
Godwin spent Weeks 2-15 on the Jaguars’ practice squad until being placed on the team’s practice squad reserve/injured list in December.
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