Wait goes on for Irishman in NFL as Jaguars release James McCourt

James McCourt looks unlikely to become the first Irish-born NFL player in 37 years after he was released by the Jackson Jaguars this week.

American football teams tend to keep only one kicker on their 53-man squads and the Irishman, who was born in Dublin before moving to Florida when he was eight, appeared to be in a battle with former Indianapolis Colt Jake Verity to grab the spot.

McCourt looked to be ahead in that race after posting impressive stats in training and landing a 54-yard field goal in a pre-season game against Atlanta last Saturday.

However, the Detroit Lions decided to cut Riley Patterson on Tuesday and the Jaguars have opted to go for the more experienced free agent, who played in seven NFL games last year, over McCourt and Verity.

.@Jaguars grab an early 3-0 lead over the Falcons