The news was straightforward: The Jacksonville Jaguars waived fullback Bradie Ewing.
Your two responses to this report are likely: 1) Who is Bradie Ewing? and/or 2) Why are you telling me this low-level information? (Hopefully asked with at least a touch of sympathy for a man who just lost his job.)
The reason we point out Mr. Ewing's release is that it means the Jags don't currently have a fullback on their roster.
As NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport noted, the door is now open for Toby Gerhart to line up at fullback.
Moving Gerhart to an H-back role has been discussed since the Jags snagged Bernard Pierce off the waiver wire from the Baltimore Ravens following his DUI arrest. With shifty Denard Robinson and second-year runner Storm Johnson also appearing to have their roles increase, it seemed Gerhart could be squeezed out of the rotation altogether.
However, putting him into a H-back/fullback role can keep him on the field and potentially provide another dimension to the Jaguars' offensive attack.
The move to at least a part-time fullback role is a disappointment for the running back after signing a three-year, $10.5 million contract last offseason to be a bulldozing every-down sledgehammer. But after getting out of Adrian Peterson's shadow, Gerhart couldn't stay healthy in 2014 and was unproductive behind a shaky line (3.2 yards per carry).
On most teams, Gerhart would get cut to save cash. Luckily for the running back, the Jags can afford to see if they can convert the 6-foot, 231-pound back into a part-time fullback in order to keep him around and diversify their ground game.
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