The Jacksonville Jaguars should use every ounce of leverage they can to convince big-name free agents to sign with them this offseason. GM James Gladstone has several connections from his time in the Los Angeles Rams front office that could bear fruit on the open market.
Jags head coach Liam Coen has some key ties from his prior teams as well, but one big free-agent fish who has a history with Gladstone in LA could be the answer to a glaring issue on Jacksonville's roster.
With defensive tackles Arik Armstead and DaVon Hamilton on expiring contracts, it's time for the Jags to consider adding some pass rushing juice at that position.
Bleacher Report suggests John Franklin-Myers is the one free agent the cap-strapped Jaguars should go all-in for
Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report provided a list of one perfect free-agent signing for all 32 teams. Jacksonville has Denver Broncos defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers headed their way in this scenario:
"The Jags need help on the interior defensive line and they could use depth on the edge. Targeting John Franklin-Myers would be an efficient way of addressing both needs. Franklin-Myers can play on the edge, but also excels at kicking down to the inside. He'd bring a lot of pass-rush juice to a team that was 27th in sacks last season."
Here's the thing: Gladstone was with the Rams when they drafted Franklin-Myers in the fourth round out of Stephen F. Austin. However, LA waived Franklin-Myers just before his second season got underway.
Imagine if the Rams had stuck it out with JFM's development. Their defensive line might look even more terrifying today. Or they could've addressed other areas of the roster. Fascinating to ponder the ripple effect there, but it's way too deep of a rabbit hole to get into for purposes of this article. Perhaps another time.
Hopefully for Gladstone and Jacksonville's sake, Franklin-Myers getting let go by the Rams is water under the bridge that only drove him to the eventual NFL success he had.
What makes acquiring Franklin-Myers trickier than any complex history is that he's easily the top interior pass rusher available. He's had 14.5 sacks the last two years in Denver, and is projected by PFF to command $15 million per year on a new contract.
Plus, the Jags have their own marquee free agents to account for. They're currently sporting a salary cap deficit of about $13.5 million. All-Pro linebacker Devin Lloyd, rising CB2 Montaric Brown, and franchise running back Travis Etienne are the big names they'd love to hold onto into the 2026 season.
Whether Franklin-Myers signs or not, it'd take a Herculean effort for Gladstone to retain Lloyd, Brown, and Etienne. There are still contract restructures, a potential Walker Little trade, and other salary cap maneuvers Jacksonville could pull off, but landing Franklin-Myers is a tall order any way they slice it.