The Jacksonville Jaguars entered their game against the Buffalo Bills with a realistic chance to win. However, they ultimately weren't able to make enough plays to come out on top, losing 27-24. Their magic season has now come to a halt, but they should feel good about the future, knowing that the best is yet to come.
Following the soul-crushing loss, general manager James Gladstone will switch to full offseason mode. Already, he has his work cut out and will need to make several crucial decisions if the Jags want to return to the playoffs in 2026. Some will be more difficult than others, but one is abundantly clear already.
The Jaguars need to cut ties with Walker Little in the offseason
When the Jaguars traded Cam Robinson at the 2024 deadline, they gave Walker Little a strong vote of confidence. Their trust paid off early on, as the 2021 second-round pick fared well at left tackle after becoming the full-time starter. But then, the new regime took over in 2025, and there were doubts that he was the long-term answer at the position.
Little didn't face much competition in training camp and was the Week 1 starter. He struggled right out of the bat and was eventually benched in favor of Cole Van Lanen. However, the team's brass had to turn to him against the Bills because Cole Van Lanen was dealing with a knee injury for the game. The end result left much to be desired.
Although Little didn't allow a sack, he was flagged twice for a false start early in the game. You can make the case that those two penalties didn't change the outcome of the game, but they didn't help either.
It's also worth noting that the Houston, Texas native also saw playing time at right tackle in relief of Patrick Mekari but wasn't particularly great. All in all, Little struggled throughout the year, giving up a team-worst nine sacks and 48 total pressures. No other Jaguars offensive lineman surrendered more than four sacks in 2025.
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Moving on from Walker Little would help the Jaguars free up cap space
After Cole Van Lanen got a $51 million deal, Walker Little's future in Jacksonville immediately got murky. The contract he signed in 2024 was worth $40.5 million and runs through 2027. He's slated to count against $14.5 million next season, and releasing him would accelerate a cap charge of $3.6 million and leave create $18.3 million in dead money. Having said that, trading him would give the Jags a bit of cap relief.
If the Jaguars traded Little, they would free up $7.3 million in space and leave $7.2 million in dead money. When you take into account that Jacksonville is currently $7.7. million over the cap, pulling it off would be huge, even if James Gladstone only got a sixth or seventh-round pick in return. This would turn out to be a fair price when you take into account that Little's stock plummeted after an underwhelming 2024.
The bottom line is that Walker Little got several opportunities to prove that he deserved to stick around with the Jaguars. But he came up short every single time, and now he's a lock to get the boot.