Joe Dineen Jr., Kansas Football News: Draft Scout Player News

05/02/20 - ILB Joe Dineen Jr., rSr/2019, Kansas

Two years removed from his last game at Kansas, linebacker Joe Dineen Jr. is in the same boat as many of his former teammates - sitting by the phone, waiting for a call and a chance. The former Free State standout got that chance from the Denver Broncos following the 2019 NFL draft, but a broken hand late in camp ended his chances of making the Broncos' 53-man roster. "It's frustrating for sure," Dineen said by phone this week from Denver. "When I was there, I felt like I was good enough to make the team. And now that it's kind of a struggle to get back onto a team, that's the part that's frustrating."

After parting ways with the Broncos, following a four-week injury settlement that made him a free agent again, Dineen received interest from other franchises. Workouts with Kansas City, Cleveland and Green Bay went nowhere, but the Jacksonville Jaguars signed him to their practice squad for the final two weeks of the 2019 season. On paper, it was a great move for the former All-Big 12 linebacker. It was at least a chance. But Dineen said he felt disconnected nearly the entire time in Jacksonville, always behind and never in position to pick up the defense or bond with his teammates. "I was really just there to fill a spot in practice," he said. After the season, the Jaguars let Dineen drift back into free agency and that's where he sits today, waiting for the next opportunity to prove that he can play. It might come. His agent believes it will. But neither one of them has any idea when. "My agent has said all along I'd be a post-draft guy," Dineen said referencing last weekend's NFL draft. "But this virus has just kept everything pretty quiet." - Lawrence Journal World

rSr/2019