Jacksonville Jaguars sign quarterback John Rhys Plumlee to practice squad
The Jacksonville Jaguars announced Friday they have signed rookie quarterback John Rhys Plumlee to their practice squad.
Plumlee, 23, participated in training camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers after going unselected in April’s NFL Draft. The Steelers reportedly wanted to sign Plumlee back to their practice squad after waiving him Tuesday, but he chose to continue his NFL career in Jacksonville.
A true Swiss army knife, Plumlee took reps under center, returned punts and kicks, worked on coverage units and played receiver for the Steelers during training camp and the preseason. In the three exhibitions, Plumlee returned six kicks for 145 yards, a 24.2 average. He saw his first snaps at quarterback in the preseason finale against the Detroit Lions, completing 3-of-4 passes for 32 yards.
Prior to making the jump to the NFL, Plumlee spent three seasons at Ole Miss (2019-21) before transferring to UCF. Plumlee featured in nine games during his freshman season under then head coach Matt Luke but was beaten out by Matt Corral for the starting quarterback job the year after. Head coach Lane Kiffin used him seldomly at quarterback and more as a receiver and running back over the next two seasons.
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John Rhys Plumlee looking to carve out role in NFL
After arriving in east Orlando for the 2022 season, head coach Gus Malzahn named Plumlee the team’s starting quarterback. He led the Knights to a 9-5 record in 2022, throwing for 2,586 yards, 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions on 63% passing. Plumlee tallied 862 yards and 11 scores on the ground.
Plumlee improved as a passer in 2023, throwing for 2,271 yards, 15 touchdowns and eight interceptions on 62.9% passing in just 10 games. He missed some time with a leg injury sustained against Boise State, which would reduce his effectiveness running the football. Still, he rushed for 505 yards and five touchdowns. In his two seasons at UCF, he broke the school record for most career rushing yards by a quarterback (1,334 yards).