It’s time for Greg Newsome to see more playing time | Ryan O’Halloran
The Jaguars slowly introduced new cornerback Greg Newsome into the fray, but after two games and all or parts of three practice weeks, it may be time to see more of him.
Cornerback Greg Newsome was traded from the Cleveland Browns to the Jacksonville Jaguars in early October.Newsome described the transition as a whirlwind, involving a new city, team, and defensive system.After a bye week to settle in, Newsome is expected to take on a larger role in the Jaguars’ defense.
New city.
New teammates.
New coaches.
New defensive system.
Most of us can relate to the whirlwind of leaving one job and starting another. Hectic. Stressful. Unpredictable. But often, it’s our choice to go through that experience.
New Jaguars cornerback Greg Newsome’s experience is obviously different — he was traded to Jacksonville from the Cleveland Browns for cornerback Tyson Campbell on the night of Oct. 7.
Cue whirlwind.
Newsome flew here and arrived at the team facility late in the afternoon of Oct. 8. He practiced Oct. 9-10. He went through a walk-through Oct. 11. He played a career-low nine snaps in the Oct. 12 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. And then he got on a plane to London for the second time in three weeks.
“It was a lot,” Newsome said earlier this week. “Just the emotional side of things, (Cleveland was) somewhere I was for a long time (four-plus years) and then coming here and trying to (learn) stuff very, very fast and then going back to London … “
Newsome didn’t need to finish the sentence. It was a lot.
“(The bye week) was critical for me,” he said. “I hadn’t seen my family since the trade so it was good to see my daughter, my fiancée and just calm down.”
Now calm, the Jaguars should start looking at Newsome for starter-level duty over the final 10 games, starting Sunday, Nov. 2, at Las Vegas.
Ezra Cleveland can relate to Newsome
Through Wednesday, Newsome was one of only 14 players who had been traded since Labor Day and the Newsome-for-Campbell swap was definitely the most high-profile, teams swapping two starters at a premium position.
Jaguars left guard Ezra Cleveland can relate to Newsome’s on-the-fly, time-doesn’t-stop-for-anything-in-the-NFL experience.
On Oct. 31, 2023, the Jaguars acquired Cleveland from the Minnesota Vikings for a 2024 sixth-round pick. Cleveland had started six games for the Vikings that season and 49 over four years.
“Luckily for me, it was (the Jaguars’) bye week,” Cleveland said.
Cleveland arrived in Jacksonville on a Tuesday to take his physical, which completed the trade. Due to the bye, instead of practicing Wednesday to Friday to prepare for a game, Cleveland was able to return to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Once he returned to Jacksonville, he moved into an Airbnb on Beach Blvd., near the ocean.
Cleveland started five of his nine appearances with the Jaguars to finish 2023 and signed a three-year contract extension in March 2024, after which he bought a house.
“Once we started playing games, that’s when it started to get normal because you’re in the every-week routine and you get to know the guys more and when you play, you create a better bond,” Cleveland said.
The way Cleveland explained it, and it made sense, was he initially felt like an outsider in the offensive line meeting room because that bond is forged during the grind of training camp when teammates spend as many as 12 hours a day around each other.
“When you’re dealing with and going through the camp and the heat as an O-line, every day is hard and you grow really, really close so when you get here (in-season), you feel like an outsider,” Cleveland said.
Cleveland acclimated himself two years ago and Newsome credited his new teammates for helping him do the same this month.
“My teammates have done a great job of helping me get right and now I feel comfortable,” Newsome said.
’Super-excited’ to make plays
A comfortable Newsome — both off and on the field — will be key for the Jaguars during their sprint to what they hope is a playoff berth.
Against the Rams, Newsome started because the Jaguars were in five-defensive back personnel. Out of 70 snaps, Buster Brown played all 70, Jourdan Lewis 69, Newsome 25 and Travis Hunter 14. If the Jaguars feel confident Newsome is up to speed, he should be an every-play participant. He played at least 90% of Cleveland’s defensive snaps in 36 of his 61 games.
The Jaguars’ rationale for weaning Newsome into both games was sound: They basically play an opposite system compared to the Browns.
“In Cleveland, we played man coverage pretty much all the time so I wasn’t in a lot of zone things,” Newsome said.
Newsome said he “appreciated,” the Jaguars’ approach to not throwing him in there with minimal practice time. The emergence of Brown, who has played well since returning from injury, also allowed for patience with Newsome.
Coach Liam Coen pointed out one example of Newsome learning the nuances of zone coverage came against the Rams when he played a “little deep in his zone,” and allowed a completion.
“He’s getting more and more comfortable,” Coen said. “You saw him in man coverage a few times on (Rams receiver) Davante (Adams) and have some really good reps. I think you’re starting to see a little bit more (of a) comfort level. He’s very engaged in the meetings — the guy sits on the edge of his chair and is looking right at you. You can tell it’s important to him.”
Newsome is 10 regular-season games from becoming a free agent so the stretch run is important to help the Jaguars and his stock. His role will be of greater importance if the Jaguars lean on Hunter to be their leading receiver, which theoretically would take away some of his defensive snaps.
“Now I understand what (the Jaguars) want from me and I’ve been able to see that,” Newsome said. “I’m super-excited moving forward to making some plays.”
Contact Ryan O’Halloran at rohalloran@gannett.com