![Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd (0) celebrates a fumble recovery with cornerback Montaric Brown (30) during the second quarter of an NFL football AFC Wild Card playoff matchup, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_446,w_6000,h_3375/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/55/01kj5tfpq7eezbcz61pz.jpg "Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd (0) celebrates a fumble recovery with cornerback Montaric Brown (30) during the second quarter of an NFL football AFC Wild Card playoff matchup, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]")
As the NFL’s 2026 offseason is officially in full swing, teams are starting to make franchise tag decisions ahead of free agency. The Jacksonville Jaguars will be among the teams making those critical calls, as they have guys like Devin Lloyd and Travis Etienne Jr. set to enter free agency.
The Jaguars are unlikely to tag either veteran, but general manager James Gladstone could send a message with how he handles Lloyd, specifically. Linebacker Devin Lloyd was drafted by Jacksonville, and this past season, in the final year of his rookie contract, he had a breakout, career year.
Now, it’s time for Lloyd to get rewarded in free agency. There will surely be teams ready to offer a big deal to Lloyd, but the Jaguars re-signing the linebacker to a nice contract would be a sign that Gladstone values rewarding hoemegrown talent.
James Gladstone has a chance to reward a homegrown talent with Devin Lloyd
Lloyd was selected in the first round of the 2022 Draft, and Gladstone was just hired as the franchise’s general manager in 2025, so the linebacker wasn’t his pick.
Nevertheless, Lloyd is still a homegrown talent, playing all of his first four years with the team, being a full-time starter every season, and developing into a Pro Bowl, All-Pro player before the end of his rookie contract.
The next natural step would be to sign Lloyd to a long-term extension. General managers typically talk about the goal of drafting, developing, and retaining players, and James Gladstone has an early opportunity in his tenure to put that approach in practice. Doing so would show that the Jaguars reward their players when they deliver, and that’s certainly something players care about.
Lloyd had 81 tackles, six tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks, seven pass deflections, and five interceptions returned for 135 yards and a touchdown in 15 total games this season. Because of that production, the veteran linebacker is expected to get a deal paying around $20 million a year.
While teams are always looking for similar production at a cheaper number, the Jaguars should just go ahead and re-sign Lloyd, showing their commitment to their players.
Not often do you see a player have his fifth-year contract option declined by a new regime, only to have his best season as a pro thereafter. This is a great problem for the Jags to have, and one they should embrace. The ideal path forward is to retain Lloyd and figure the rest out later.