Before free agency started, the Jacksonville Jaguars were around $16 million over the cap. After a series of restructures, they managed to get out of the red. That allowed them to re-sign cornerback Montaric Brown and ink running back Chris Rodriguez.
However, the Jags needed to free up more space, which is why it's not particularly surprising to find out that they reworked Jakoki Meyer's deal to get it done.
The Jaguars reworked Jakobi Meyer's deal to create $3.76 million in cap space
Michael Ginnitti of Spotrac posted on social media that the Jags managed to create $3.76 million in space by convering $4.7 milion of Jakobi Meyer's salary for 2026 into a signing bonus.
Following the restructuring, Meyers now has a base salary of $1.6 million in 2026, and his cap hits for the next three years are as follows:
- 2026: $6.2 M
- 2027: $22.3 M
- 2028: $24.3 M
- 2029: $7.2 M (void)
Later the same day, the Jags also created $2.46 million in space by converting $3.2 million of Logan Cooke's guaranteed salary into a signing bonus. The change in the cap hasn't been reflected as of this writing.
After converting Cooke's salary, the Jags should have around $7 million in space. From an outside perspective, it's hard to tell what they plan to do in the upcoming weeks, but they would be able to make a few big moves if they keep freeing space. If that's the route they take, they'll have plenty of options to choose from.
Josh Hines-Allen, Arik Armstead, and Foyesade Oluokun would be candidates for contract restructures. Another option would be to trade left tackle Walker Little, who was benched in favor of Cole Van Lanen last year.
Trading Little may be the best course of action. It wouldn't push cap into future years, and Jacksonville could get some kind of compensation in return for him.
What could the Jaguars do after the Jakobi Meyers restructure?
The Jaguars need to bolster the interior defensive line and the pass rush. While their options in free agency have dried up a bit, they could try to trade for help at both position groups.
Without many enticing options to upgrade the defensive tackle position in free agency, Jacksonville could try to trade for Jalen Carter. But if the Jags want to fortify the pass rush, they could pursue Josh Sweat, who may be available via trade.
The Jaguars would need to keep tweaking a few contracts to take a swing, but it's doable. On the other hand, they may just be creating space to get their rookie class under contract. Either way, the situation it's worth monitoring.