The Jacksonville Jaguars released veteran wide receiver Lee Evans, and moved rookie wide receiver Justin Blackmon up to the first-team offense on Sunday, the Florida Times-Union reported.
According to the report, coach Mike Mularkey said Evans could no longer run routes the way he could when he was younger.
Evans, 31, was slowed by injuries during the 2011 season, when he played in nine games, including three starts, and caught just four passes for the Baltimore Ravens.
“He’s not the same player obviously and that’s normally the case when you’re nine years out of it,” Mularkey told the Times-Union. “He’s just struggling getting in and out of breaks and I think he felt the same way. It was probably best that he gets a chance to go with somebody else at this time of the year and give some of the younger guys more reps.”
Mularkey said he wouldn’t be surprised if Evans retired.
Mularkey moved Blackmon to the first unit to get him ready to open the season as a starter.
He signed a four-year , $18.5 million deal last Monday, and participated in his first practice last Tuesday.
Blackmon is scheduled to make his NFL debut in a preseason game Friday night in New Orleans.
The Jaguars also signed wide receiver Demetrius Williams and guard-center Josh Beekman. Neither played in the NFL last season.
Mularkey also said cornerback Derek Cox will miss two weeks with a hamstring injury.