The Jacksonville Jaguars today waived PK Steve Lindsey and signed Jim Tarle, a graduate of Bishop Kenny High School who kicked for the Jacksonville Tomcats of arenafootball2 this year. They also promoted OT Reggie Nelson from the practice squad to the 53-man roster and signed G/OT Dwayne Ledford and DT Richard Seals to their practice squad.
Tarle, 27, is a 1991 graduate of Bishop Kenny, which is located just across the St. Johns River from ALLTEL Stadium. He played collegiately at South Carolina and Arkansas State and had tryouts with the Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins prior to joining the Tomcats. In his only season in af2, Tarle scored 128 points, ranking fourth among the league's kickers. He was successful on 17 of 48 field goal attempts and 77 of 84 extra points. He set a league record with a 58-yard field goal. Tarle will wear jersey No. 5.
Lindsey has been the Jaguars' kickoff specialist the last two seasons, and he also punted and placekicked earlier this season when injuries sidelined Bryan Barker and Mike Hollis. Last year, he led the NFL with 22 touchbacks, but this season he had only five touchbacks in 43 kickoffs (not counting one onside kick). When Barker couldn't kick in the season opener, Lindsey punted three times for a 39.0-yard average, and in four games in place of Hollis, he was 5 for 7 on field goals and 5 for 5 on extra points for 20 total points.
Nelson had been re-signed to the practice squad yesterday. He was originally signed to the Jaguars' practice squad on September 27 and activated to the 53-man roster on October 24 (he was inactive for the October 29 game at Dallas). He was waived last Saturday when Shad Criss was promoted to the 53-man roster because of Aaron Beasley's injury.
Ledford, 24, spent most of last season on the San Francisco 49ers' practice squad, though he was promoted to the 53-man roster for the final game, in which he was inactive. He was waived by the 49ers during this year's preseason. The 6-3, 295-pound Ledford was a two-year starter at both defensive tackle and offensive tackle at East Carolina. He is a native of Marion, N.C.
Seals, 24, was a seventh-round draft choice of the New York Jets this year. He was waived during the preseason. He started 33 games in four years at Utah, making nine sacks as a senior. The 6-3, 316-pound Seals is the half brother of Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson.
