Malcom Brown released by Jacksonville Jaguars in surprise move following career year

The Jacksonville Jaguars made a surprise move after practice on Wednesday, releasing veteran defensive tackle Malcom Brown who appeared to be caught in a squeeze play involving younger players ahead of him and behind him on the depth chart.

Brown (6 feet 2, 330 pounds) was entering his eighth season in the NFL. He is coming off a career-high 57 tackles in 2021, with two sacks.

Brown was listed behind third-year pro DaVon Hamilton at nose tackle on the depth chart before last week's preseason game against Cleveland.

Hamilton has had a good training camp and Jay Tufele, who played only four games in his rookie season last year, also has been playing at a high level and had one of his best practices on Monday at TIAA Bank Field.

Tufele was behind Brown on the third team.

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Brown, a native of Texas and an All-American for the University of Texas in 2014, was drafted in the first round by New England, played for the Patriots for four seasons and was a member of two Super Bowl-winning teams. He signed with New Orleans, played there for two years before being traded to the Jags for a seventh-round pick.

He has career numbers of 304 tackles, 27 for losses, 13.5 sacks and 26 quarterback hits.

Brown signed a two-year, $11 million contract in 2021 ($3 million signing bonus, $7.6 million guaranteed) and was due to make $5.4 million this season, with a roster bonus of $500,000 and a workout bonus of $100,000.

According to Spotrac.com, the move is a salary cap hit of $7.5 million on the Jags, with a dead-money cap hit of $4.5 million.

Contact Garry Smits at gsmits@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @GSmitter.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars part ways with veteran defensive tackle Malcom Brown