When the Jacksonville Jaguars were in the process of cutting their roster down to 53 players, there were plenty of difficult decisions that needed to be made.

Head coach Liam Coen and general manager James Gladstone had the "good problem" of needing to cut several talented players who may have been locks for a roster spot in previous seasons.

Now, with the Jaguars having much more talent from top to bottom, there were no longer enough spots available.

One decision that will always lead to a strong debate is when a team has to decide between keeping an experienced veteran or going with a young player with upside.

For a team as young as Jacksonville, it is easy to understand why Coen and Gladstone would want some extra experience scattered around the roster.

The Jaguars decided to keep a pair of grizzled veterans on the team, running back Ameer Abdullah and linebacker Jahlani Tavai, over talented younger options who would have provided more upside.

Coen spoke with reporters and gave some insight as to why the organization rolled with the 33-year-old Abdullah and 29-year-old Tavai.

Casandra Chesser of Jaguars Wire wrote about Coen's comments and his belief that the two veterans earned their spots on the roster.

Abdullah was competing for the last RB spot with undrafted rookie J'Mari Taylor. The rookie was Jacksonville's best offensive player in the team's opening preseason contest, but Abdullah had a stellar showing the following week.

A possible placement on an injury list for RB LeQuint Allen Jr. to begin the season had the potential to free up a spot for both Abdullah and Taylor, but the Jaguars did not feel the need to do so.

In the end, the team decided to keep Abdullah and fortunately was able to keep Taylor on the practice squad.

As for Tavai, he was able to beat out young linebackers Jack Kiser, Jalen McLeod, Yasir Abdullah, and Amari Burney. He was also only signed to the roster a few weeks before cutdowns, giving him limited time to make an impression.

Kiser and McLeod both made it to Jacksonville's practice squad, but Abdullah was claimed by the Atlanta Falcons.

Coen credited both veterans' work ethic as major reasons they were kept over the younger guys, saying Abdullah and Tavai "do it the right way."

"It's typically challenging to make those teams in some of those instances, and so credit those guys. They're the right type of ones, right? Mentally, pros do it the right way. Ameer Abdullah is one of the first guys in our building every single day. The way that he prepares his body, the way that he prepares for practice. Jahlani, the way that he goes about his business. He's a great teammate. Everybody loves him. He does all the little things the right way, will help us on special teams as well."

Nobody probably would have thought Abdullah and Tavai would both be on the 53-man roster just a few weeks ago. However, both veterans were able to make enough of an impact to secure their places on the team.

They each provide veteran leadership and plenty of experience to a very young Jaguars' team.

Luckily, Jacksonville was able to retain many of the talented young players who were cut in favor of Abdullah and Tavai.