The Jacksonville Jaguars made a handful of low-level and mid-tier signings early in free agency. They brought in Patrick Mekari to play guard, Dyami Brown to give Trevor Lawrence another receiver, Jourdan Lewis to man the slot on defense and Eric Murray to replace Andre Cisco on the back end and more.
Yet they’re probably done adding for now. At least, according to new general manager James Gladstone.
“Yeah, we’ve got 10 picks in this year’s draft. We’re going to have to have some spots that are actually open for them to insert,” Gladstone said, via Jaguars on SI. “So, if you add a veteran at this point, could be just standing in the way. We’re going to allow these rookies to get a chance to get out on the field and help us this coming fall.”
Jacksonville still has plenty of needs, and it looks like the players it selects in next month’s draft will have every opportunity to step right in and take some first-team jobs. The Jags in previous years routinely shopped in the higher levels of free agency, like when they paid players like Christian Kirk, Brandon Scherff, Foye Oluokun, Arik Armstead or Gabriel Davis, so this marks a distinct change in strategy.
Gladstone explained his thinking.
“I think it’s pretty simple. What we were seeking during pro-free agency was to raise the floor of this football team, and every player that we pursued and that we’ve now acquired is meeting that standard,” Gladstone said.
“By being nothing more than who they are and who we know them to be, both on and off the field, they’re going to do exactly what we would hope they’d do and that’s level up this ecosystem.”
The Jaguars are headed into the first year of the Gladstone and Liam Coen era, and given these comments, it looks pretty clear that they’re going to significantly churn the roster over the next few seasons, with the draft being the primary avenue from which they will infuse the team with talent.
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Author: Jared Dubin
March 14, 2025 | 2:56 pm
