3 players who made their way out of the Jacksonville Jaguars' plans in 2025

The 2024 season has forced the Jacksonville Jaguars organization to seriously evaluate their squad and who can truly help this team become successful. All things considered, it’s a shame that it took such a dreadful campaign for Shad Khan to look in the mirror and realize some players and staff members aren’t what’s best for this franchise to compete.

The Jaguars owner has already made some moves in which few would be disappointed, such as firing Trent Baalke and Doug Pederson. Both are largely responsible for their own demise in Duval, and the same can be said about some players on the current roster,

With that in mind here are three current players who made their way out of the Jaguars plans in 2025.

Christian Kirk, wide receiver

Injuries have undoubtedly affected the 28-year-old receiver, but let’s face the facts: he’s never been a marquee player, and yet the club was paying him first-rate wages.

Don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of times where he looked like the star wideout that Trevor Lawrence had been craving, but we also saw plenty of inconsistencies from him when he did play.

Yes he had some career highs for the Jags in their 2022 playoff run, but he also tended to drop easy catches at critical moments in Jacksonville.

Cutting Kirk would provide the Jags with $10.5 million. At the same time, he’s by far the biggest cap hit on the roster at $24.1 million, and injured or not, he’s too great a risk to bring back.

There are some big names available in free agency, like Tee Higgins, Stefon Diggs, and Chris Godwin, the latter of whom has ties with current Jags head coach Liam Coen. Those players can be much bigger assets to a Jags team and make life a lot easier for breakout star Brian Thomas Jr., who is sure to draw plenty of attention from top cornerbacks in 2025.

Lawrence isn’t going to want to see Kirk leave as the two are often seen out in public and have developed a genuine friendship that feels like a brotherhood. However, it’s what’s best for Lawrence if he wants to be that generational talent we all projected he’d be and it’s also the best thing for a franchise that needs to get back to respectability.

Evan Engram, tight end

Like Kirk, parting ways with Evan Engram is a tough call to make because he and Lawrence have at times linked up well. The former New York Giants tight end has had his best NFL years in Jacksonville.

Engram however shouldn’t fit into the plans of a team needing proven and consistent pass-catchers for Lawrence to throw to. Engram was the team’s best pass-catcher when Kirk went down in that Monday Night loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in 2023. Nonetheless, if you evaluate his overall body of work, the team’s offensive energies may be better spent elsewhere.

It isn’t just injuries that plagued Engram last season, but he also had patterns of inconsistent play, and like Kirk, he’s also had lapses of underwhelming play.

Cutting or trading Engram would save the Jags $6.2 million in cap space. Who knows if a team is willing to take a chance on him, but he shouldn’t be a part of this team next season.

While the 411 receiving yards put up by Brenton Strange at the tight end spot last season aren’t earth-shattering numbers, he was productive and reliable when called upon.

The same could not always be said about Engram in his seasons with Jacksonville. Strange has only played two seasons in the league and made plenty of strides in 2024, and there’s no reason to believe he won’t make another step forward in 2025.

Jeremiah Ledbetter, defensive end

The Jaguars defense, under Ryan Nielsen, was supposed to be an aggressive unit that would often put opposing quarterbacks under duress. As a team, they ended 2024 with the fifth-fewest sacks in the NFL (34), and Ledbetter registered just two.

The former Arkansas product wasn’t the only liability on that side of the ball, but for someone with his experience and a Super Bowl ring, he seemed to struggle to get past offensive blocks.

He also made just 20 solo tackles and was one of many Jag players who couldn’t stop opposing running backs at the point of attack.

The Jaguars allowed 132.6 yards per game on the ground last season. Travon Walker has been solid regarding getting to the quarterback; Arik Armstead’s past history should keep him on the roster, while Maason Smith showed plenty of upside against the run and in the pressure game down the stretch of the 2024 campaign.

Ledbetter didn’t have a bad season, but he’s not had a big impact in many areas either, and that’s what this team needs in that position.

There should be teams interested in acquiring him, and the Jags should try to get a good return for him, which may be the case.

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