The Jacksonville Jaguars had a cap crunch early in 2026 and could have solved it by releasing Arik Armstead. They could have gotten over $14.5 million in space but didn't touch his contract. It now looks like the Jags are holding onto him next season.
For his part, Armstead was aware of the speculation all this time, but he's only focused on being the player he was before a hand injury hindered his performance last year. If the veteran defensive lineman comes through, he'll be in a position to cash in big in 2027 when he becomes a free agent.
For the time being, a local beat writer believes the Jaguars made the right call by sticking with him.
The Jaguars are better off keeping Arik Armstead around
Ryan O'Halloran of The Florida Times-Union made an appearance on 1010 XL and said that the moves the Jaguars made in the offseason pointed to Arik Armstead returning in 2026. Co-host Hays Carlyon responded that releasing him would have been a mistake, noting that he would garner lots of interest from other teams.
"There was a lot of talk, would he be a June 1 release?" Carlyon said (2:31 mark). "Obviously, the contract is not a good one, but this is what I kept coming back to: With all of that, if you cut Arik Armstead, he immediately becomes the best available defensive tackle on the market, so you have to sort of work through that. Like, I certainly don't think he's — he would be addition by subtraction. I mean, to your point, Arik Armstead still has something left in the tank.
You hope that there's one more really good year still in there, but he's a quality if you, again, I get the contract, and I think you're dead on. I think there are so few remnants of the Baalke era left that that's one of them, and so he sticks out more, but I think it would have been a mistake based on what's available. If you're going to cut a guy and he's going to immediately become the best of his position available, well, you probably shouldn't cut him."
Before Armstead suffered the hand injury, he was a playmaker on the interior, posting 5.5 sacks. However, he didn't record any afterwards. The prior year, the coaching staff had him line up at defensive tackle. To nobody's surprise, the move didn't work out. The former Oregon Duck switched back to his more familiar defensive tackle spot in 2025, and he came through.
The expectation is that Armstead will make an impact in his second season under defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile.
The Jaguars need Arik Armstead to make an impact in 2026
The Jaguars could have used the extra cap space they would've gotten if they had released Arik Armstead, but it seems like they're confident that he can bounce back next year.
Moreover, the Jags didn't have many appealing options to replace Armstead, so you cannot blame them for not making a move. In the meantime, he's the best pass rusher of a group that includes Ruke Orhorhoro, Albert Regis, and DaVon Hamilton.
At this point, Arik Armstead is trending toward becoming a free agent in 2027. But if he leaves, he's in a position to give the Jaguars one last good season.
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