Big Cat Country
“This is a growing step for us, a growing moment,” Josh Hines-Allen said following Jacksonville’s playoff loss to Buffalo. “Obviously this team is not going to be the same next year.”
“It’s a business, at the end of the day. Some people are going to be here, some people are not. But the guys that step on this field leading into OTAs, to training camp, from the first game of the season to the last, those are the guys we’re going to ride with, and those are the opportunities we’re going to try to develop to win.”
“It was a really cool team, a special year,” said Trevor Lawrence. “It sucks because you’re never going to have the exact same group again, so I think that’s the worst part is it’s over. There’s going to be a lot of things that stay the same, but it’s never the exact same group.”
To respond to the above comment from JagKhanVille in The Feed: the Jaguars will be “a different team” because every NFL team changes year to year. Roster turnover is inevitable. Some players retire, or leave in free agency, or are cut, and new faces will be added throughout the offseason.
As Lawrence said, “there’s so much work that’s put into any season.” NFL brotherhoods are built when groups of players/coaches give there all for each other in the shared goal to win a title. When the next season starts, the goal may be the same, but the path and the personnel won’t be.
General manager James Gladstone and the front office have some tough decisions to make this offseason as to which impending free agents will stay in town and be part of the Jaguars’ next quest for a ring.
Jaguars 2026 Free Agents (players with 300+ snaps in 2025 are bolded)
Note: WR Jakobi Meyers and OL Cole Van Lanen received contract extension during the season.
Here’s what I think: Jacksonville should try to sign Etienne to a “team-friendly” deal (it does seem like he wants to stay) but not be afraid to let him walk if he’s looking for a payday since Bhayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen Jr. are waiting in the wings. Lloyd would be far more difficult to replace, so I’d do whatever it took to keep him in the building, even if it means placing the franchise tag on him. I would bring back Brown over Newsome. Gardeck is my favorite player on the list and would be in the Pride of the Jaguars...
