It appears wide receiver Marqise Lee won't be catching passes from Gardner Minshew or anybody else wearing a Jacksonville Jaguars jersey.
On Monday afternoon, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported that the Jaguars are releasing the speedy wideout three days before the opening night of the virtual NFL Draft.
A surprise: The #Jaguars are releasing WR Marqise Lee, source said. One of their most productive receivers is now a free agent – fully healthy and completely cleared medically — right before the draft.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 20, 2020
The #Jaguars receivers now: DJ Chark, Dede Westbrook, Keelan Cole, Chris Conley. … A chance they could snag a WR with a prime pick. https://t.co/rwUJ6fPLQL
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 20, 2020
Marqise Lee was due $7M this year when you combine salary and per-game roster bonuses. The #Jaguars save a little money. Based on the current circumstances, we may see more teams follow suit to save some dollars. https://t.co/rwUJ6fPLQL
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 20, 2020
Rapoport's report came within hours of Jacksonville defensive end Yannick Ngakoue lashing out at Tony Khan, son of Jaguars owner Shad Khan, via Twitter.
The Jaguars selected Lee with the 39th pick of the 2014 NFL Draft. Over the past six seasons, he appeared in 59 regular-season games with the organization. He caught eight touchdown passes over those contests.
As ESPN's Michael DiRocco wrote, the Jaguars placed Lee on injured reserve on Oct. 29 after the 28-year-old suffered a shoulder injury in a game against the New York Jets. Before that setback, Lee caught three of four targets during the season.
Lee missed the entire 2018 campaign after he injured his knee during a preseason game. Earlier that year, he and the Jaguars agreed to a four-year contract worth $18 million in guaranteed money.
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