No matter how well the Jacksonville Jaguars' season goes this year, it's only phase one of the Liam Coen Era. Turnover is an inevitable part of the NFL, and James Gladstone shocked a lot of us during his first couple of weeks on the job.
I know you've seen the title, and I can already hear what you're saying, "Why are you being so negative? Just enjoy this playoff run!"
Oh, trust me, I am and I will, but Gladstone started this season off like a man on fire. The trade deadline has come and gone, so there isn't any help coming through the door anyway. Not that the Jaguars think they need it.
I apologize in advance, but you'll have to humor me since the first-year general manager's tactics showed his hand a bit. He didn't make any splashes in free agency, but his work in the trade market would've made Les Snead proud. So, without further ado, here are three players, including Walker Little, who will probably be wearing different jerseys in 2026.
Walker Little's time to prove he's the Jaguars' blindside protector has expired
The Jaguars have two problems in this situation. Cole Van Lanen is on a restricted tender and has looked better than Walker Little in recent games. However, recent trends in the NFL show that there is such a thing as giving up on young players too early.
Jaguars fans know all too well that the team hasn't fielded the best offensive lines over the years; and the franchise still hasn't acquired a tackle who can give Tony Boselli and Leon Searcy a run for their money. With that being said, having a lot of good players to rely on is never a bad situation to be in.
The value a starting left tackle with a contract could draw in the trade market is an interesting prospect to consider. Walker's next team would have his services secured until the end of the 2027 season. Also, paying Van Lanen or giving Wyatt Milum a shot to man Trevor Lawrence's blindside would be a choice made by Gladstone, not Trent Baalke.
That alone would be a good enough reason to give the idea a chance.
Andrew Wingard might not make it through this era of Jaguars history
In the world of pro football, Andrew Wingard has been the ultimate survivor. He almost got cut for calling Urban Meyer a rookie head coach, clearly fell out of love with Doug Pederson near the end of his tenure, and found himself in a training camp where he had to prove himself again after Andre Cisco was allowed to test the market.
The former Wyoming Cowboy is often overcriticized, but this season, he has eight passes batted up, an interception, and 42 solo tackles to his name. Could he be better? Yes, but this is a hard salary-capped sport. Unfortunately, that same sport has a mechanism that lets teams find high-impact players for extremely low prices.
If the Jaguars retain Travis Etienne, Devin Lloyd, and Cole Van Lanen, they won't have major holes anywhere else but safety. You could say the team still needs an elite man corner, but Travis Hunter's story as a defensive back hasn't been written. I mention that because drafting a safety may be the best option available in the back of the second round.
If the Jaguars do draft a safety that high, I don't see a future where Wingard makes it through another hypercompetitive training camp.
Maason Smith needs a change of scenery and Jacksonville needs to explore its other options
At this rate, Maason Smith needs a new team, a new scheme, and a clean slate. Bizarrely, he's played in more games than he did his rookie season but started less. Despite Anthony Campanile's reliance on applying pressure as much as possible, Smith doesn't have any sacks after posting three in last year's historically bad system. Talented athletes with the former LSU lineman's body type are hard to find, which is why the former front office drafted him in the second round.
Since he was selected, the Louisiana native's NFL career has been filled with healthy scratches and setbacks in his development. Gladstone may not get a lot for Smith in the trade market, but the young executive seems to be a fan of one-for-one trades involving players. Finding another defensive tackle to take a chance on may be the best outcome possible.
Just like the other two players mentioned, I can see arguments for keeping Smith. He's young, affordable, and in the first year of a new system that's nothing like the one he showed flashes in. However, I believed James Gladstone when he said he wanted to elevate the floor of the roster; and now we have to ask ourselves what the new floor is after Jacksonville's 11-4 start.