JACKSONVILLE – The 2019 roster transition continues.
The Jaguars' offseason transition at quarterback continued Thursday, too, with Cody Kessler – a starting quarterback in four games late last season – being released on the same day the team signed 21 undrafted free agents.
Kessler, acquired in a 2018 offseason trade with the Cleveland Browns for what became a seventh-round selection in the 2019 NFL Draft, started Weeks 13-16 last season. His release means both Jaguars' starting quarterbacks from last season are no longer with the team. The Jaguars released longtime starter Blake Bortles in mid-March.
Kessler's release leaves four quarterbacks on the roster: projected starter Nick Foles, 2019 sixth-round selection Gardner Minshew, 2018 sixth-round selection Tanner Lee and 2019 free-agent acquisition Alex McGough.
The Jaguars signed Foles as an unrestricted free agent in mid-March. Lee now is the only quarterback on the roster who was with the Jaguars last season.
The Jaguars on Thursday also released linebacker Donald Payne, guard Parker Ehringer, fullback Dimitri Flowers, running back David Williams and linebacker Blair Brown.
Brown, a fifth-round selection by the Jaguars in the 2017 NFL Draft, played 28 games with two starts. Payne, acquired off waivers from Baltimore in 2017, played 21 games in two seasons. Williams, signed from Denver's practice squad last season, rushed for 36 yards on eight carries in six games with the Jaguars.
Flowers originally signed as an undrafted free agent with the New York Jets and spent time on the Jaguars' practice squad last season. Ehringer, a fourth-round selection by Kansas City in 2016, was claimed off waivers from Dallas in April.
Here are the 21 undrafted free agents signed Thursday:
*Shane Bowman (6-feet-4, 290 pounds), defensive end, Washington.
*Tyre Brady (6-3, 211), wide receiver, Marshall.
*Khairi Clark (6-1, 309), defensive tackle, Florida.
*Joe Giles-Harris (6-2, 234), linebacker, Duke.
*Donnell Greene (6-5, 335), offensive lineman, Minnesota.
*Tae Hayes (5-9, 188), cornerback, Appalachian State.
*Raphael Leonard (6-2, 197), wide receiver, Southern Illinois.
*Carson Meier (6-5, 254), tight end, Oklahoma.
*Picasso Nelson Jr. (5-10, 193), cornerback, Southern Mississippi.
*Marquez Sanford (5-10, 189), cornerback, Murray State.
*Saivion Smith (6-1, 199), cornerback, Alabama.
*Dredrick Snelson (5-11, 189), wide receiver, Central Florida.
*Bunchy Stallings (6-2, 324), offensive guard, Kentucky.
*Connor Strachan (6-0, 230), linebacker, Boston College.
*Michael Walker (5-11, 194), wide receiver, Boston College.
*Brandon Watson (5-11, 198), cornerback, Michigan.
*Papi White (5-8, 188), wide receiver, Ohio.
*Andrew Williams (6-4, 294), defensive tackle, Auburn.
*Andrew Wingard (6-0, 209), safety, Wyoming.
*Zedrick Woods (5-11, 205), safety, Mississippi.
*Roderick Young (6-1, 307), defensive tackle, North Texas.
Brady, Giles-Harris, Greene, Smith, Wingard and Woods all attended the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis in February/March.
