![Jacksonville Jaguars safety Rayuan Lane III (25) walks between warmups before an NFL scrimmage at EverBank Stadium Friday August 1, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_407,w_3388,h_1905/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/55/01k3kqkyk67bmt9g1b63.jpg "Jacksonville Jaguars safety Rayuan Lane III (25) walks between warmups before an NFL scrimmage at EverBank Stadium Friday August 1, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]")
The Jacksonville Jaguars had a conundrum at safety. While most of the attention was centered on who would win the starting job next to Eric Murray, the team's brass had to also sort out the bottom of the depth chart.
Heading into the preseason finale, the Jags had a trio of safeties vying for a roster spot: Daniel Thomas, undrafted free agent Cam'Ron Silmon-Craig, and rookie Rayuan Lane. Already, the front office released Silmon-Craig and Thomas, paving the way for Lane to stick around in 2025.
Why the Jaguars are keeping Rayuane Lane over Daniel Thomas
As a sixth-round selection, Rayuane Lane III wasn't a lock to make the team but certainly had a few things going in his favor. For starters, he was brougth in by the new regime, unlike veteran Daniel Thomas.
On top of that, Lane had an intriguing skill set and was a staple of the special teams on the Navy football program. And more often than not, late-round selections can stick around if they can contribute in that phase of the game.
Granted, Thomas had also carved a niche as a returner but releasing him freed up nearly $2 million in cap space, so his rookie counterpart got somewhat of an edge.
Then, the preseason came, and Lane played 97 snaps on defense and 27 on special teams.
Related: The Jags were pitched to recover from the Travis Hunter trade by trading a franchise player
What's next for Rayuan Lane?
As of this writing, the Jaguars are still trimming down their roster ahead of cutdown day. That said, Rayuan Lane is trending toward making the team even though the team's brass will continue to make tweaks at the position.
Free-agent acquisition Eric Murray is virtually guaranteed a roster spot after inking a three-year deal worth $19.5 million. Rookie Caleb Ransaw missed the preseason and won't have a starting job to begin his rookie campaign. That said, he's part of Jacksonville's long-term plans. That's two spots.
Andrew Wingard, Antonio Johnson, and Darnell Savage are competing for the starting job next to Murray. That's three players, and either the Jags will keep all three and carry six safeties, or the most likely scenario is that they'll keep only two of them. Add Lane to the mix, and that's five roster spots.
In the end, the Jaguars had a plan for Rayuan Lane when they drafted him, and things are pretty much playing out the way they envisioned.