The Jacksonville Jaguars have signed defensive end BJ Ojulari to the practice squad, the team announced Wednesday, adding a former second-round pick with pass-rush pedigree after placing defensive end B.J. Green II on injured reserve.
Ojulari, 24, was selected by the Arizona Cardinals with the 41st overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of LSU. The 6-foot-2, 248-pound edge rusher from Marietta, Georgia, joins Jacksonville after the Cardinals waived him on Aug. 30 following training camp.
The move comes as the Jaguars also promoted linebacker Jack Kiser from the practice squad to the active roster. Green is dealing with an elbow injury suffered in Week 1.
The signing is a low-risk look at a young rusher who flashed as a rookie before injuries stalled his development.
In 2023, Ojulari played all 17 games for Arizona and finished with 40 tackles and 4.0 sacks — the most by a Cardinals rookie since 2016. He never started a game in Arizona, but worked a rotational role and posted six quarterback hits that first season.
A torn ACL in August 2024 wiped out his entire second year. He began 2025 on the reserve/physically unable to perform list, was activated in mid-November, and appeared in eight games, recording nine tackles and one sack.
Over 25 career games, he has 49 tackles, six tackles for loss, nine quarterback hits, 5.0 sacks and one pass defensed.
At LSU from 2020-22, Ojulari earned first-team All-SEC honors as a junior. In 34 college games (24 starts) he totaled 129 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, 16.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and two passes defensed.
His older brother, Azeez Ojulari, was also a second-round pick and has played for the New York Giants and other NFL clubs.
Jacksonville’s front already features first-round bookends Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker, who helped the Jaguars sack Cleveland five times in a 10-point Week 1 win.
Ojulari gives the staff another developmental body who can rush from the edge and compete for elevation if injuries hit the rotation.
Practice-squad players can be signed to the 53-man roster or elevated for game days, so the former Cardinals draft pick is now in position to stay in the building and work his way back into regular-season consideration.
For a player still only 24 and entering what would have been the final year of his rookie contract in Arizona, the Jaguars practice squad is a chance to reset.
If he stays healthy and produces in practice, Jacksonville could have a useful depth piece — or more — without committing a roster spot immediately.
