The Jacksonville Jaguars have spent this week adding players, but one of their young offensive prospects is heading elsewhere. Rookie quarterback Joey Aguilar is getting an opportunity with another team, bringing his time on Jacksonville’s practice squad to an end.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that the Arizona Cardinals are signing Aguilar directly to their active roster. The move gives the rookie a chance to establish himself in a new quarterback room while leaving the Jaguars with one fewer developmental option at the position.
“The Cardinals are signing quarterback Joey Aguilar to the active roster, per source,” Fowler wrote on X.
For Aguilar, the destination comes with a meaningful change in status. He will join Arizona’s active roster after working on Jacksonville’s practice squad, an opportunity that gives him something to build on during the second half of his rookie season.
The signing alone does not establish where Aguilar will fall on the Cardinals’ depth chart or whether he will see game action. However, Arizona is committing a roster spot to a quarterback who had been developing elsewhere. This is due to the organization trading Jacoby Brissett and possibly losing Gardner Minshew for the year.
Jaguars Lose Developmental Option At Quarterback
Keeping a young quarterback on the practice squad allows a team to work with him throughout the season without using a permanent spot on its 53-man roster. That arrangement also leaves open the possibility of another club offering an opportunity.
NFL rules permit teams to sign players from another club’s practice squad directly to their active roster. That is the route Arizona is taking with Aguilar.
For the Jaguars, the immediate consequence is the loss of a rookie they had been able to evaluate in their own building. Practice repetitions, meetings and preparation all give coaches opportunities to assess whether a young passer is making progress.
Aguilar will now continue that process with the Cardinals.
His departure does not, by itself, suggest a problem with Jacksonville’s plans at quarterback. Practice squads change throughout the season, and a player accepting an active-roster opportunity elsewhere is part of that movement.
Nevertheless, developmental quarterbacks require time. Jacksonville’s work with Aguilar will no longer come with the possibility of seeing that investment pay off. He will no longer remains in its system.
The Jaguars can evaluate whether to bring in another passer or use the available practice-squad opening at a different position. Fowler’s report did not identify a corresponding Jacksonville move.
Cardinals Give Joey Aguilar A New Opportunity
Aguilar’s next challenge will be learning Arizona’s offense and earning the confidence of a different coaching staff. Joining a team during the season requires a quarterback to absorb new terminology while teammates are already operating within an established routine.
An active-roster spot is a step forward, but his longer-term future will depend on what he does with it.
For Jacksonville, the move closes one developmental chapter at a position where teams regularly search for affordable depth and future options. For Aguilar, it provides a fresh opening.
The Cardinals saw enough reason to bring him onto their roster. Now the rookie gets an opportunity to show that their interest can become something more.
Jaguars Lose Rookie QB To Cardinals’ Active Roster