While running back Travis Hunter and linebacker Devin Lloyd get most of the headlines, they're not the only players the Jacksonville Jaguars could lose in free agency. In total, 17 of their players are scheduled to hit the open market. Some of them will be bigger priorities than others, but there's no doubt that the Jags had a handful of unsung contributors in 2025 that deserve a new deal.
Working against Jacksonville is that it's currently $13.9 million over the cap, so the front office will need to make a few roster cuts and restructure a handful of contracts before it can start to re-sign its pending free agents. The good news is that bringing back one of them, Quintin Morris, probably won't be cost-prohibitive.
How did Quintin Morris land with the Jaguars in 2025
The Jaguars cut Evan Engram last season because they needed the cap space to address the larger scale roster. On top of that, 2023 second-round pick Brenton Strange was ready to take on a starring role. However, Jacksonville still needed to add depth at tight end, so it signed Hunter Long and Johnny Mundt in free agency.
Signing Long and Mundt made sense because neither was expensive, and they had previously spent time with head coach Liam Coen or offensive coordinator Grant Udinski, respectively. But after the draft, the Jaguars also brought in Quintin Morris to round out their tight end room.
From an outside perspective, it looked like Morris was the odd man out. In fact, he didn't make the initial 53-man roster, but Jacksonville valued him enough that it signed him to the practice squad.
Morris just put his head down and got to work, and it paid off. The Jags promoted him the maximum of three times per season allowed in 2025, so they eventually signed him to the active roster. He finished the year with six receptions with one touchdown on nine targets for 66 yards.
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Why the Jaguars need to re-sign Quintin Morris
After going undrafted in 2021, Quintin Morris signed with the Buffalo Bills. The Bowling Green product didn't see the field as a rookie, but ended up appearing in 45 games with them from 2022 to 2024. In that span, he only tallied a combined 15 receptions, but his blocking skills most definitely caught the Jags' attention.
Even though Morris logged fewer offensive snaps than Long and Mundt in 2025, he had carved a niche as a blocker by the end of the season. Meanwhile, Long dealt with injuries and was a healthy scratch for several games. He could be a cap casualty this offseason, and if he leaves, he would pave the way for Morris to return.
Last offseason, the Jags gave Morris a one-year deal worth $1.15 million. Something between $1.5 milllion and $2 million could be enough to convince him to return in 2026.
The bottom line is that Quintin Morris isn't the kind of player who will routinely get the spotlight. However, he became a valuable contributor in Jacksonville last year. That's why re-signing him should be a priority this offseason.
