As a result, the Jaguars have landed on one list that is not exactly an ideal group to belong to, but one they can also survive being a part of. <\/p>\n
Free Agency Impact<\/p>\n
The Jaguars were recently listed by NFL.com’s <\/a>Matt Okada as one of the seven teams set to be hit the hardest by free agency in 2026. It is not a shock considering the level of free agents that Lloyd and Etienne are, but it also is not welcomed to be included on a list alongside the likes of the Cleveland Browns or alongside as rough of a cap situation as the Chiefs. <\/p>\n Jacksonville Jaguars general manager James Gladstone speaks during a press conference next to head coach Liam Coen at the Miller Electric Center, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. | Corey Perrine\/Florida Times-Union \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n “The Jaguars had an exciting season, winning the AFC South under new head coach Liam Coen and with a late-year surge from \ufeffTrevor Lawrence\ufeff. And there\u2019s good news for the front office heading into 2026: Jacksonville only has 18 impending free agents, tied for the second-fewest,” Okada said. <\/p>\n “The trouble, however, comes with its wallet — $11.4 million over the cap — and with the names on their free agent list.” <\/p>\n Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. (1) rushes for yards during the third quarter of an NFL football AFC Wild Card playoff matchup, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Bills defeated the Jaguars 27-24. [Corey Perrine\/Florida Times-Union] | Corey Perrine\/Florida Times-Union \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n This, of course, is a fair point to make. The Jaguars are returning more players next season than most teams, but they are not in the financial position to exactly be aggressive at retaining either free agent. And for that reason alone, the Jaguars are set to be hit hard by free agency in the next month or so. <\/p>\n “First-round running back \ufeffTravis Etienne\ufeff has reached the end of his rookie contract after logging his third season with 1,400-plus scrimmage yards and his second with 12-plus touchdowns. He could demand top-five RB money in free agency, and if Jacksonville doesn\u2019t pay up, it’ll be down a key contributor on offense,” Okada said. <\/p>\n Jan 4, 2026; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars general manager James Gladstone looks on from the sideline against the Tennessee Titans during the fourth quarter at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Travis Register-Imagn Images | Travis Register-Imagn Images<\/p>\n “And while its defense is safe up front with \ufeffJosh Hines-Allen\ufeff, \ufeffTravon Walker\ufeff and \ufeffArik Armstead\ufeff all signed through at least 2026, things get messy at the next two levels. Linebacker \ufeffDevin Lloyd\ufeff, safety \ufeffAndrew Wingard\ufeff and corners \ufeffGreg Newsome II\ufeff and \ufeffMontaric Brown\ufeff (among others) will all hit free agency in March. If 35-year-old GM James Gladstone can manage to keep his core, this roster will compete for the division title again in 2026 — but there\u2019s a chance they take two steps back after 2025’s big step forward.”<\/p>\n Never again miss one major story related to your beloved Jaguars when you sign up for our 100% FREE newsletter that comes straight to your email with the latest news.\u00a0SIGN UP HERE NOW.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Follow us on X (Twitter)\u00a0@JaguarsOnSI\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0@_John_Shipley<\/a>\u00a0and make sure you like our Facebook page,\u00a0WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars are looking to build off a special 2025, but it won’t come…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":148219,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-148218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148218"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148218\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"james](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/01kgz3r1926fy0hq8s0k.jpg\" "\\"james")
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