Throughout the offseason, Brian Thomas Jr. has been the subject of trade chatter. The Jacksonville Jaguars have emphatically denied that they're moving the third-year wideout, but that hasn't stopped reporters from claiming that he may indeed be available.
From an outside perspective, it's hard to tell whether the Jags would truly consider trading Thomas, but former NFL wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. has a compelling theory.
Steve Smith says maybe Brian Thomas Jr. didn't feel appreciated by the Jaguars
Steve Smith invited James Palmer of Bleacher Report to his podcast and weighed in on the Brian Thomas Jr. trade chatter, arguing that he might not have felt appreciated in light of the arrival of Travis Hunter.
"I believe he was underutilized at college in LSU," Smith told Palmer. "That's why some teams really had to do a deep dive, and the Jacksonville Jaguars, when Liam Coen was not the head coach, he wasn't part of that process that Doug Peterson was with getting Brian Thomas Jr., and Trent Baalke. Now they get him any balls, and what happens? Now, this is just my humble opinion about Brian Thomas Jr."
Smith, "Then all of a sudden, they trade all of those picks, or they make a blockbuster move that no one sees coming. They get Travis Hunter. Now, Travis Hunter comes in, and he's playing offense, he's playing defense, he's getting every opportunity. Everything is about him. And you know what? If this is me. I would go if I brought it to my junior. I go, man, this is the same [expletive] thing that happened last time."
Later in the exchange, Smith says that Thomas could see that the wind was shifting following the Jakobi Meyers trade. And if he were him, he would be justified not to give his all when they've been shopping him around.
Palmer then states that he doesn't think the trade chatter involving Thomas was false, noting that his name came up at the 2025 deadline and earlier this year.
"I don't think it's incorrect that I heard his name multiple times at the trade deadline in the 2025 season, when they were looking to move at the trade deadline. I don't think it's false that I heard his name coming up in terms of trades in this opening up into the league year."
For context, Adam Schefter of ESPN vehemently denied that the Jags were trading Thomas after Connor Hughes of SNYtv said that they were having talks with the New York Giants involving the LSU Tiger.
The Jaguars could eventually trade Brian Thomas Jr., but it seems unlikely
For the moment, it doesn't look like the Jaguars will be trading Brian Thomas Jr., and why would they? He had nearly 1,300 receiving yards with 10 touchdowns as a rookie. On top of that, his cap hits the next two years are extremely team-friendly. Sure, Jacksonville also has Jakobi Myers, Parker Washington, and Travis Hunter in the fold, but Thomas offers an element of verticality that the offense could desperately use.
Having said that, the Jaguars would probably listen if a team made an offer they couldn't refuse. Let's say a first-round pick. That kind of compensation would most definitely get general manager James Gladstone's attention, as it would allow him to address the larger scale roster.
Brian Thomas Jr. is trending toward being on the Jaguars in 2026, but it doesn't look like the noise is going to die down anytime soon.