The Jacksonville Jaguars don't have many (if any) viable options on their current roster to start at boundary cornerback opposite Travis Hunter in 2026.
Montaric Brown is hitting the free-agent market, and may command a bigger payday than the cap-strapped Jags can offer him. That means Jacksonville GM James Gladstone must get creative to address a clear weak point in the secondary.
Gladstone can pursue viable long-term options in the NFL Draft, but if he wants a more certain starter for the new season, a couple cost-effective free agents stand out as strong fits.
Chidobe Awuzie & Asante Samuel Jr. are ideal veteran targets to pair with Travis Hunter
Speaking of salary cap issues, while the Jags' deficit of $13.48 million looks kind of rough, they have more flexibility than the Baltimore Ravens do right now.
Sure, the Ravens have $22 million in 2026 cap room, but they only have $33.9 million in 2027. And mind you, that's with two-time MVP Lamar Jackson eating up a $74.5 million cap hit in each of those two years.
A Jackson contract extension is about to be messy and complicated. Baltimore needs to eliminate as much future-oriented guesswork as possible. Chidobe Awuzie has defied the odds at every turn in his NFL career to play at a high level, including this past year for the Ravens, when he ranked 16th in PFF's coverage grades among all corners.
Awuzie turns 31 in late May and shouldn't settle for a discount to stick around in Baltimore. Playing under a defensive genius like Jesse Minter may have its appeal, but Awuzie could get far more on the open market.
That's not to say Jacksonville needs to break the bank for him. The Ravens only paid $1.255 million for Awuzie to be a high-end starter. The Jags could pay him, like, four times that and still navigate their way to fitting under the salary cap with enough contract restructures.
It only helps the Jaguars, too, that Awuzie got beat on a double-move by Steelers wideout Calvin Austin III for what proved to be a division-winning TD in Week 18.
That one play angered a lot of Ravens fans. The reality is, Awuzie just got beat in a big moment. It happens. Many Ravens fans want him gone because of it.
Maybe check on your kicker, y'all. He's no Cam Little.
WIDE RIGHT. STEELERS WIN. OMG. pic.twitter.com/hXilD2aPsH
— NFL Australia & NZ (@NFLAUNZ) January 5, 2026
Speaking of Pittsburgh, Asante Samuel Jr. is another cornerback who Jacksonville could buy low on. Samuel had a scary injury that required spinal fusion surgery last April. He didn't sign with a team last offseason as a result, and was only cleared to play football again in November.
Despite the career-threatening setback, Samuel signed with the Steelers and performed quite well down the stretch, especially considering what he was coming back from.
Samuel is a Florida native and would have a legitimate chance to start for an up-and-coming Jaguars team. He wouldn't command a massive contract, as he's appeared in only 10 regular-season games since the start of 2024. Certainly worthy of consideration to say the least.