Jacksonville Jaguars

Jaguars release benched veteran safety Barry Church

Published Dec. 14, 2018 4:29 p.m. ET

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The Jacksonville Jaguars have released Barry Church, a safety who was benched last month but who started 27 consecutive games over two seasons.

The Jaguars (4-9) made the move Friday and activated offensive tackle Josh Wells from injured reserve.

Church was benched following a loss at Buffalo last month and was inactive last week at Tennessee. Rookie Ronnie Harrison replaced him in the starting lineup. The Jaguars decided to cut Church loose and let him try to sign elsewhere for rest of the season.

He has 572 tackles and 10 interceptions in nine seasons. Church spent the first seven years of his NFL career with Dallas. He signed a four-year, $26 million contract with Jacksonville in 2017.

The Jaguars also placed offensive tackle Josh Walker on injured reserve and promoted defensive lineman Lyndon Johnson from the practice squad. They also waived tight end Niles Paul (non-football injury) from injured reserve.