The Jacksonville Jaguars may have to pay way more money than they probably anticipated to retain Parker Washington after Christian Watson signed a top-market extension. This isn't necessarily a bad thing when you take into account that he's become a mainstay on offense. That said, negotiations could complicate the Jags' long-term strategy, as they may need to prioritize some players over others.
The silver lining is that the Jags could get plenty of bang for their buck because Washington isn't resting on his laurels. He's coming off a banner season and has established himself as a mainstay of the Jacksonville offense. And as good as the former Penn State Nittany Lion was in 2025, he's making a tweak that could help him make an even bigger impact next season.
Jaguars WR Parker Washington hired a personal trainer full-time
Ryan O'Halloran of The Florida Times-Union revealed that Parker Washington hired personal trainer Alonzo Ford to work with him full-time in the offseason. The article is behind a paywall, but O'Halloran made an apperance on 1010 XL and talked in length about his conversation with the fourth-year wideout.
"He's talking good stuff. We hear about his road tree, and blah blah blah, and I said, Hey, where'd you train this year? Well, I was back in Houston, but also went to Hawaii and California, and he goes, and I hired my trainer full-time. I was like, "What? I said, You haven't signed your big deal yet? And he sort of laughed," O'Halloran said. "He says, "Man, I've taken care of my money. He goes, 'This was really important to me.' And tracked down Alonzo Ford, who's based in Houston, and he's going to spend Friday to Tuesdays here in Jacksonville during the regular season."
O'Halloran continued, "And they're still mapping out what exactly those days will entail outside of Sunday, of course. But one thing that Alonzo said is that they felt that Parker got worn down toward the end of the year. The numbers don't show that, but maybe the explosiveness was noticeable to them, so they are sort of tailoring their workouts. Hey, be ready for the 17-game grind, because you're going to get a lot more playing time than you did over 17 games last year."
Later in the exchange, O'Halloran says that Ford has trained with Washington since he was in eighth grade, and the two worked together during the COVID-19 pandemic, when there were no gyms open in Texas.
A sixth-round pick in 2023, Washington barely got playing time his first two seasons but flashed playmaking potential. And when Jacksonville moved on from Christian Kirk in 2025, he made the most of his chances, hauling in 58 receptions for 847 yards with five touchdowns.
Below is O'Halloran's full conversation. His remarks about Washington start at the 7:18 mark.
The Jaguars had better pay Parker Washington fast
The fact that Parker Washington is making a big investment before he signs his next contract rather than afterward shows that he's committed to improving. Then again, if he takes off, it will have been worth every cent.
And that's the thing: Washington should be incentivized to have yet another banner season after watching fellow receivers Jayden Reed and later Christian Watson cash in. Early in the offseason, the Sugar Land, Texas native was projected to ink a four-year $64 million deal, but that now seems like a conservative estimate. Heck, nobody would bat an eye if he earned an extension that pays him $20 million per year.
And unless the Jaguars want to risk losing him next year, they'd better do what it takes to lock up Parker Washington. That he's hiring a personal trainer shows that he's serious about both getting paid and taking his game to the next level.
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