The Jacksonville Jaguars are coming off a 13-4 season, but they cannot rest on their laurels if they want to make a deep playoff push in 2026. One of the biggest challenges they'll face after losing the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card Weekend will be to make upgrades to the roster while trying to keep their core as intact as possible. That latter part could turn out to be difficult.
The Jags have several players scheduled to hit the open market in March. They'd love to keep most of them but won't be feasible when you take into account that they're currently $17 million over the cap. One pending free agent, in particular, who could be a huge loss is linebacker Devin Lloyd.
The 2021 first-round pick just had a banner season. He earned a Second-Team All-Pro designation and just replaced fellow linebacker T.J. Watt in the Pro Bowl. If that wasn't enough, Pro Football Focus just posted a list that shows how valuable Lloyd was last year.
Devin Lloyd's is the Jaguars' most valuable free agent
Bradley Locker of PFF put together a list of every team's highest-graded pending free agent and chose Lloyd for the Jaguars, pointing out that the veteran linebacker showcased his all-around skillset in a banner season.
"Lloyd capitalized on his contract year, leaving little doubt about his all-around skililset," Locker wrote. "While propelling the Jaguars to rank fifth in defensive EPA per play, the former first-round pick was the second-highest-graded linebacker (88.4) to play 590 or more snaps. Impressively, the 27-year-old slotted in the 92nd percentile in both PFF coverage (78.9) and run-defense (85.2) grades."
Lloyd got off to a hot start to his rookie season but was benched down the stretch. He eventually got his job back and was more consistent in 2023. However, the former Utah Ute struggled in coverage and didn't make enough big plays.
By 2024, Lloyd was sharing significant playing time with Ventrell Miller. The following offseason, the Jags declined the fifth-year option on his rookie deal. That might've been the motivation he needed to put it all together, as he showed notable improvement in coverage and registered a career-best five interceptions.
Now, Lloyd is ready to cash in, and re-signing him won't come cheap. Spotrac values him at $20 million per year in free agency. Even if the annual average ends up being $16 million or $17 million, it may exceed Jacksonville's budget, so he currently looks like a good bet to hit the open market.
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Why the Jaguars may let Devin Lloyd walk in free agency
Nobody will deny that Devin Lloyd is a mainstay of the Jaguars defense, but the front office will have a tough time bringing him back. General manager James Gladstone himself didn't sound overly optimistic about the odds of bringing him back. On the other hand, Lloyd sounds like he's ready to test the open market and see what kind of demand he draws, understandably so.
NFL players have a short window to generate income, so nobody should bat an eye if the Kansas City, Missouri native goes to the highest bidder. As noted before, the Jags are hurting for cap space, so they probably won't be able to match whatever offer he gets.
Losing Lloyd, in turn, would be a huge blow. Ventrell Miller would be the first in line to replace him, but there could be a significant drop-off. Even if he comes through, his contract runs through 2026, so Jacksonville may also need to replace him next year. This might leave Gladstone with no option but address the linebacker corps this offseason.
Devin Lloyd helped the Jaguars field one of the top defenses in the NFL last year. Now, other teams will want to recreate his success and won't mind paying top-market money to make it happen.