The Jacksonville Jaguars brought back veteran pass rusher and defensive lineman Dawuane Smoot on a one-year deal, but he isn’t quite ready to participate in training camp.
On Wednesday morning, the team placed Smoot on the physically unable to participate (PUP) list.
Smoot, 28, was leading the Jaguars in sacks last season when he suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in December. He’s reportedly been ahead of schedule in his recovery, but it’s still expected to be a while before he’s back on the practice field.
Jaguars coach Doug Pederson told reporters Wednesday that offensive lineman Ben Bartch, who is also on the PUP list, will get involved later in camp and Smoot will take even longer than that.
If Smoot misses time early in the regular season, it could be costly. His new deal with the Jaguars includes $1.25 million in per game roster bonuses, paid out in $73,529 installments for every game he’s active. If he doesn’t come off the PUP list before the end of preseason, Smoot will be required to sit out the first four games of the season.
