An NFL coach has to make tough calls sometimes. But this one may be a bit more difficult than most.
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson had to cut players from the team to make it to the 53-man roster. One of the players that he got rid of was his own son, Sports Illustrated reported.
Pederson cut tight end Josh Pederson to be able to get to the required 53 players by the deadline.
Josh Pederson was an undrafted free agent from Louisiana-Monroe. He had spent time with the San Francisco 49ers, New Orleans Saints and the Kansas City Chiefs. He also was playing in the USFL for the Houston Gamblers, where he caught 24 passes for 325 yards in 10 games, but his contract there ended earlier this year to be able to join an at-the-time unnamed NFL team, ESPN reported.
Despite floating around to several teams, Josh Pederson has never been on the field during the NFL’s regular season.
ESPN reported that Doug Pederson’s decision wasn’t a surprise. He was asked on Monday if he wanted to be the one who told Josh if he was off hypothetically the team. The coach responded that he had to give his son bad news in the past, but then said in all seriousness that the team’s general manager Trent Baalke would treat Josh the same as any other player.
“I’d want to tell him,” Doug Pederson said. “Trent would want to visit with him as well, and I definitely want to talk to him and just let him know — I mean, he’s been through this process before with a couple other teams last year. And I’m very familiar with it, obviously, as a former player, and walk him through the process and let him know that everything’s going to be OK.”
The Jags cut more than two dozen players before the 4 p.m. Tuesday deadline, NBC Sports reported.
