JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars are parting ways with wide receiver Marqise Lee, the team announced Monday.
Lee battled injuries throughout his career and never became the game-changing player the team hoped he would when he was drafted in the second round in 2014.
Lee, who turned 28 in November, is due to make $6.25 million in base salary and count $8.75 million against the salary cap in 2020, but the emergence of DJ Chark along with veteran Chris Conley made Lee expendable. The Jaguars save $5.25 million with the move, but they also absorb $3.5 million in dead money. Jacksonville also released running back Taj McGowan on Monday.
Lee played in only six games and had three catches for 18 yards since signing a four-year contract worth $34 million with $16.5 million guaranteed in March 2018. He missed the 2018 season after suffering a torn ACL, MCL and PCL in his left knee during the preseason.
He played in six of the first eight games last season, but a shoulder injury put him back on injured reserve after he caught one pass for 8 yards in a Week 8 victory over the New York Jets.
The Jaguars drafted Lee with the 39th overall pick in 2014, and he battled injuries early in his career, missing nine games in 2014 and '15. He played in every game in 2016 and missed only two games in 2017. He re-signed with the Jaguars in March 2018 after the team was unable to reach a deal with Allen Robinson, whom they also drafted in the second round in 2014.
Lee has 174 catches for 2,184 yards and 8 touchdowns in 59 career games.