Six Jaguars players were allocated to NFL Europe League teams today, headlined by quarterback Jonathan Quinn, who will play for the Berlin Thunder.

"I am very excited about playing in Europe," said Quinn, who is one of two allocated quarterbacks who have started games in the NFL. "I was very close to playing over there last year but things did not work out (because Jay Fiedler signed with Miami and Quinn was the only other quarterback on the Jaguars' roster). This time I am on my way to Berlin, and I can't wait to get started."

Quinn, who started the final two regular-season games in his rookie season of 1998, will be competing for the starting job at the Thunder with Leon Murray of the New York Giants. The only other NFLEL quarterback who has started in the NFL is Cleveland's Spergon Wynn.

The other five allocated Jaguars and their NFLEL teams are defensive back Craig Miller (Barcelona), offensive tackle Reggie Nelson (Frankfurt), linebacker Troy Pelshak (Barcelona), defensive end Paul Spicer (Frankfurt) and safety James Watkins (Berlin).

An additional 11 punters and kickers - including Jaguars placekicker Jim Tarle, the seventh Jacksonville player allocated to the NFL Europe League - are yet to be assigned. The NFL Europe League will begin play on April 21, and training camp will start on March 19 in Tampa.

"We want these players to gain valuable playing experience in a competitive league," said Jaguars head coach Tom Coughlin. "The NFL Europe season will provide them quality repetitions and it will give them an opportunity to further develop their own skills in playing their particular position. It will also give us the opportunity to evaluate their performance level going into our training camp."