{"id":181373,"date":"2026-03-06T22:44:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T22:44:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/181373\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T22:44:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T22:44:10","slug":"projection-has-jaguars-retaining-devin-lloyd-in-free-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/181373\/","title":{"rendered":"Projection has Jaguars retaining Devin Lloyd in free agency"},"content":{"rendered":"

March 6, 2026, 12:35 p.m. ET<\/p>\n

The Jacksonville Jaguars<\/a> have a big dilemma on their hands. Devin Lloyd, arguably their best player on defense, is set to be a free agent, and it’s assumed that he will be too expensive for the Jags to keep. But Anthony Campanile, along with Liam Coen and James Gladstone, will surely want to keep him in Jacksonville if they can.<\/p>\n

Lloyd had a career season in 2025, and as such, he is one of the most in-demand free agents available. He was named to the Pro Bowl for the first time last year, and was named a second-team All-Pro.<\/p>\n

Additionally, he was graded as the most effective blitzer<\/a> in the league by Pro Football Focus<\/a> (PFF). He also was a key force in coverage and against the run, making him a truly versatile linebacker that will be an asset to any defense.<\/p>\n

As such, there has been constant speculation from analysts about where he will end up. The Jaguars elected not to use the franchise tag<\/a> on him, simply because it was too expensive. But that doesn’t mean it’s too late to work out a contract that will keep him in Jacksonville. And in a round-up of where he thinks 20 free agents will end up, ESPN’s Dan Graziano<\/a> said that is exactly what he thinks will happen.<\/p>\n

Hitting the open market at 27 years old following a second-team All-Pro season, Lloyd will generate interest from a number of teams looking to upgrade at the off-ball linebacker spots. This allows him to get a deal that just tops the one Zack Baun got from the Eagles in free agency one year ago, from the team he played for last year.<\/p>\n

Predicted landing spot: Jacksonville Jaguars<\/a><\/p>\n

Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.<\/a><\/p>\n

It’s certainly an interesting prediction, considering how difficult it would be for the Jaguars to make it work with Lloyd. Gladstone was able to do some maneuvering to free up some cap space<\/a>, but they’re still $6.04 million over the cap, which ranks among the worst in the NFL, according to Over the Cap<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Still, it’s possible to keep Lloyd around, especially if the Jaguars elect to let Travis Etienne<\/a> go and work out a longer contract with Lloyd. That could end up as the best-case scenario for the Jags as they head into 2026 and look to build upon the success of 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"March 6, 2026, 12:35 p.m. ET The Jacksonville Jaguars have a big dilemma on their hands. Devin Lloyd,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":181374,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[31,116,118,117,1254,9548,298,1256,336,420,1257,442,49,300,34],"class_list":{"0":"post-181373","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-accessfree","9":"tag-jacksonville","10":"tag-jacksonville-headlines","11":"tag-jacksonville-news","12":"tag-sstssportsnfljaguars","13":"tag-sstsnjaguars","14":"tag-tagamerican-football","15":"tag-tagdevin-lloyd","16":"tag-tagespn-inc","17":"tag-tagjacksonville-jaguars","18":"tag-tagliam-coen","19":"tag-tagnfl-hub","20":"tag-tagoverall-neutral","21":"tag-tagsports-news","22":"tag-typestory"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181373","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=181373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181373\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/181374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}