Under general manager James Gladstone, the Jacksonville Jaguars haven't been afraid to make a bold move if it helps him upgrade the roster. Similarly, they haven't hesitated to move on from underwhelming players that the past regime brought in. In fact, they did both things following the 17-17 tie against the New Orleans Saints in Week 2 of the preseason.
Hours after the bout, Tom Pelissero of NFL Media announced that Jacksonville was acquiring defensive tackle Khalen Saunders from the Saints. The move made sense since both Arik Armstead and Maason Smith are in practice but aren't back at full strength, which puts their availability for the season opener in doubt.
At the time, Pelissero didn't announce the terms of the trade, but just a few minutes after the original tweet, he reported that the Jaguars were sending underachieving center Luke Fortner to New Orleans. And with that, his stint in Jacksonville comes to an end.
Why the Jaguars traded Luke Fortner in exchange for Khalen Saunders
All things considered, it's not particularly shocking to see the Jacksonville Jaguars move on from Luke Fortner. Heck, the Black & Teal predicted he could be one of three non-Travis Etienne players who could get traded after the preseason. It looks like James Gladstone is ahead of the curve.
All things considered, Fortner should've seen the trade coming. After all, the Jags made it clear how they felt about him when they signed Robert Hainsey in free agency to start, and later used a seventh-round selection on Jonah Monheim in this year's draft. With both of them in the mix, there was no longer room for the fourth-year center, and understandably so.
A third-round pick in the 2022 draft, Jacksonville brought in Fortner as a potential heir apparent to Brandon Linder, and for a brief moment, it looked like he was going to be up to the task. Although he struggled at times in his rookie season, the former Kentucky Wildcat also flashed, which is why the Jags expected him to make strides in 2023. Unfortunately, he came crashing down.
Even though Fortner started all 32 games as a rookie, he struggled, and the only reason he didn't get bench was that Jacksonville didn't have anyone else. But that changed when they signed Mitch Morse last year.
But Morse only lasted one season in Jacksonville before calling it quits. You would think that his retirement would pave the way for Fortner to play, but that wasn't the case. Still, the new regime kept him around, hoping he could turn the corner. He didn't, which is why the Jags moved on from him.
And that's the thing: why keep Fortner around if you don't think there's room for him? Instead of holding onto him and waiting until he became a free agent in 2026, the Jags cut their losses and moved on from him when they could.
And with that, James Gladstone just moved on from one of the many mistakes his predecesor made.
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