With free agency inching closer, the Jacksonville Jaguars have yet to make a decision on Devin Lloyd. The former Utah Ute is coming off a banner season and is scheduled to hit the open market.
If Lloyd is available, he'll have no shortage of suitors, and an NFL writer has identified a logical landing spot for him.
PFF predict that Devin Lloyd will join the Bengals if the Jaguars let him walk
Dalton Wasserman of Pro Football Focus drew up a list of five signings that make sense in free agency. He included Devin Lloyd, noting that the Cincinnati Bengals are an obvious landing spot for him because they're in dire need of help at linebacker. Here's the skinny.
"Cincinnati could be wise to aggressively pursue Jacksonville's Devin Lloyd, who's fresh off a career-best season at 27 years old," Wasserman wrote. "Lloyd's 88.4 PFF overall grade ranked third among all qualified linebackers this offseason. He was also one of just three linebackers to rank in the top 12 in PFF run-defense grade and PFF coverage grade. Assuming he can maintain production, Lloyd would be a great fit as the new leader of the Bengals' defense."
This isn't the first time Cincy has been named a free-agent destination for Lloyd. In a different article, Bradley Locker of PFF identified the 2022 first-round pick as a free-agent target for the Bengals, arguing that they could use a defensive splash.
Cincinnati would definitely make sense for Lloyd in free agency, but plenty of other teams would make a run for him if he's available in free agency. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Las Vegas Raiders, and the New York Jets could also pursue the 2025 Second-Team All-Pro. All of them have the cap space to meet his potential salary demands.
Following his breakout season, Lloyd is projected to get a top-market contract. Spotrac values him at $20 million per year, while PFF estimates he'll get an annual average of $16 million. Regardless of what the final amount turns out to be, it looks like his price tag will likely exceed Jacksonville's budget.
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The Jaguars will have options to replace Devin Lloyd
At this point, it looks like Devin Lloyd will leave in free agency. During the Pro Bowl games, he said that the team hasn't reached out to him to begin contract talks. Both sides could strike a deal before free agency starts on March 10, but it doesn't look like they'll get something done by then, when you take into account that the Jags showed a greater sense of urgency to extend offensive lineman Cole Van Lanen and wide receiver Jakobi Meyers last year.
If Lloyd does walk, 2023 fourth-round pick Ventrell Miller could be the first in line to replace him. The Jaguars could also target Jacob Rodriguez in Round 2 or 3 of the draft. That said, there's a chance that there'll be a dropoff at linebacker early on.
On the other hand, Lloyd only put it all together after Anthony Campanile became the defensive coordinator. Campanile could work his magic once again and turn Miller, Rodriguez, or whoever gets the starting job into a steady force at linebacker. Heck, the Jags probably didn't plan to bring back Lloyd after 2025. Otherwise, they would've picked up the fifth-year option on his rookie deal.
That Devin Lloyd broke out in 2025 was an unexpected surprise. The Jaguars were able to get one great season out of him. Now, they must brace themselves for his potential departure.