The Jacksonville Jaguars are coming off their most successful season in more than two decades. After hiring Liam Coen and James Gladstone as their head coach and general manager, respectively, they racked up 13 wins, the most they had since 1999, and seized the AFC South title for the first time since 2022. Now, the Jags are looking to build off last year's success. The trouble is that they'll be facing a few hurdles.
The main one is that the division just got tougher. The Houston Texans advance even further in the playoffs than Jacksonville, and most of their roster and coaching staff remain intact. On the other hand, the Tennessee Titans hired Robert Saleh as their head coach after ousting Brian Callahan last year. The Indianapolis Colts, for their part, ended the season on a losing skid but have enough talent to bounce back in 2026.
But aside from the external hurdles, the Jaguars will also be dealing with some interal internal issues. One of them will be to get into salary cap shape. Their situation doesn't currently look great.
How much cap space do the Jaguars have in 2026?
The NFL just announced that the salary cap for 2026 will undergo an increase of around $20 million. Before the spike, the Jags were around $21 million over the cap. They're now around $13.5 million in part because some bonuses have kicked in. While it's a more manageable amount, Jacksonville is still in the red, so James Gladstone will have to work his magic.
Two ways to get under the cap are restructuring deals and making roster cuts. The former allows the team to keep players but spread their cap hit to future years. The latter is more absolute, as the club releases a player but gets immediate cap relief (when possible). One way to soften the blow is to designate the cut as a post-June 1 designation, so the dead money is split in 2026 and next year.
Another way to get space is by extending players. Pass rusher Travon Walker, tight end Brenton Strange, and wide receiver Parker Washington are candidates to get new deals. However, it may be a bit premature to start discussing a potential extension with them, since all of three still have one year left on their respective contracts.
Which Jaguars players are potential cap casualties or candidates for restructuring?
If the Jaguars want to restructure deals, defensive end Josh Hines-Allen, offensive lineman Ezra Cleveland, linebacker Foyesade Oluokun, defensive tackle Arik Armstead, and nose tackle DaVon Hamilton would be obvious candidates because they're important roster pieces and their contracts have room for maneuvering.
On the other hand, Armstead could also be cut with a post-June designation, and the Jaguars would free up more than $14 million in space. Aside from the Oregon Duck, other potential cap casualties include tight end Hunter Long, offensive lineman Chuma Edoga, wide receiver Austin Trammell, and linebacker Yasir Abdullah.
Jacksonville could also free up a bit over $7 million if it trades left tackle Walker Little. The move would also leave $7.2 million in dead money, though.
How many pending free agents do the Jaguars have right now?
Even though the regular season finished in January, players scheduled to hit the open market will remain on the roster until the new calendar year starts on March 11, which also signals the beginning of free agency in the NFL.
The Jaguars have 17 players slated to become free agents in March. Below are all of them, via Spotrac, in no particular order.
- Dyami Brown, receiver
- Emmanuel Ogbah, pass rusher
- Devin Lloyd, linebacker
- Travis Etienne, running back
- Andrew Wingard, safety
- Greg Newsome, cornerback
- Tim Patrick, wide receiver
- Austin Johnson, defensive tackle
- Dennis Gardeck, linebacker
- Dawuane Smoot, defensive end
- Matt Dickerson, defensive tackle
- DeeJay Dallas, running back
- Quintin Morris, tight end
- Keith Taylor, cornerback
- Christian Braswell, cornerback
- Montaric Brown, cornerback
- Joshua Cephus, wide receiver