Jacksonville Jaguars

With $16.1M in cap room now but $51.2M in dead money and only $2.0M projected next season, Jacksonville is financially squeezed until the back half of the commitment schedule lightens.

17 contracts expiring

Madden Tools Analysis

Ten starting spots have weak depth behind the starter.

Seven picks in the upcoming draft, all in the first round, and 21 picks across three years give Jacksonville serious ammunition to reload the trenches and restock depth at multiple positions.

The roster's clearest strength is its edge and linebacker core built around Hines-Allen, Walker, and Oluokun, while the interior defensive line is the glaring weak spot, ranking dead last in starter quality leaguewide.

• DThigh

  The interior defensive line is among the league's worst, ranking 30th at the starting spot and 23rd in depth, and the top two starters are both cut candidates.

• FShigh

  Caleb Ransaw starts at free safety but sits 30th among starting free safeties leaguewide, making the position an urgent priority despite solid depth.

• HBhigh

  Bhayshul Tuten is the starter but the backfield ranks 28th in starter quality and 29th in depth, meaning an upgrade behind him is essential.

• RThigh

  Walker Little starts at right tackle while ranking 27th leaguewide at the position, and his release would free $7.5M against $7.0M in dead money.

• WILLhigh

  Ventrell Miller is the starter at weakside linebacker but grades out 29th in the league, and the depth behind him is similarly thin at 23rd.

• TEmedium

  Brenton Strange is a serviceable starter at 79 overall, but the depth is ranked 30th leaguewide and provides very little behind him.

• Clow

  Robert Hainsey holds the center spot at a middling 20th-ranked starter grade, though depth is solid at 9th overall.

• LGlow

  Emmanuel Pregnon starts at left guard and the depth is exceptional at 3rd in the league, but the starter grade of 22nd leaguewide still leaves room to upgrade.

• LTlow

  Anton Harrison starts at left tackle and grades 23rd leaguewide, though the depth ranks 2nd in the league, providing plenty of interior cover.

• WRlow

  Parker Washington leads a receiver group that ranks 21st in starter quality, and the unit needs a true complement to push the position into the top half.

• 76Arik ArmsteadDTReleasing Arik Armstead frees $14.0M against $5.4M in dead money, a strong net gain for a 76-overall backup DT entering the later years of his career.Frees $14.0M · $5.4M dead
• 75DaVon HamiltonDTDaVon Hamilton is the second DT on the depth chart at 75 overall, and his release frees $7.4M against $5.0M in dead money at a position the team is rebuilding anyway.Frees $7.4M · $5.0M dead
• 77Walker LittleLTWalker Little starts at a league-bottom right tackle spot rated 77 overall, and cutting him frees $7.5M against $7.0M in dead money while allowing the team to address RT with a better option.Frees $7.5M · $7.0M dead
• 65Matt DickersonDTMatt Dickerson is the third DT on the depth chart at just 65 overall and can be released for an essentially clean $1.3M in savings against only $150K in dead money.Frees $1.3M · $150.0K dead
• 63Quintin MorrisTEQuintin Morris is the third tight end at 63 overall with virtually no depth-chart impact, and his release frees $1.4M against just $600K in dead money.Frees $1.4M · $600.0K dead

Jacksonville has a legitimate foundation in Trevor Lawrence, Josh Hines-Allen, and the emerging young core of Travis Hunter, Parker Washington, and Antonio Johnson. The defense has real teeth at the edge and at linebacker while Foyesade Oluokun is healthy and productive, but his career is entering its final chapter and succession at MIKE must become a priority. The offensive line is the most pressing structural problem, with the right tackle spot ranking near the bottom of the league and dead-cap obligations limiting how aggressively the team can shop for upgrades. The interior defensive line is equally alarming, with both primary starters as potential cap casualties. Still, the team carries seven picks in the upcoming draft and 21 picks across three years, giving Jacksonville meaningful resources to replenish the trenches on both sides. If Lawrence continues to progress and the front office can convert those picks and cap savings into line upgrades, the Jaguars are a team capable of competing for a division title within two or three seasons.

The Jacksonville Jaguars were awarded to Jacksonville, Florida on November 30, 1993 as the NFL's 30th franchise, under principal owner Wayne Weaver, and began play in 1995 alongside the Carolina Panthers. Placed in the AFC Central (moving to the AFC South upon 2002 realignment), the expansion Jaguars enjoyed one of the great early runs in NFL history under first head coach Tom Coughlin: after a 4-12 debut, they reached the AFC Championship Game in just their second season (1996), upsetting the Bills and Broncos on the road. They made the playoffs four straight years (1996-99), won AFC Central titles in 1998 and 1999, and posted a franchise-best 14-2 regular-season record in 1999 before losing the AFC title game to Tennessee. Salary-cap problems and Coughlin's 2002 firing ushered in leaner years; the Jack Del Rio era produced playoff berths in 2005 and 2007 but no division titles. The bright exception was 2017, when Doug Marrone and the top-ranked 'Sacksonville' defense rode to the AFC South title and within a whisker of the Super Bowl, losing 24-20 at New England. The current era began with the No. 1 overall selection of Trevor Lawrence in 2021; after the brief Urban Meyer tenure, Lawrence led an AFC South title and a memorable playoff comeback in 2022 under Doug Pederson. Pederson was fired after 2024; the team hired Liam Coen in January 2025 and immediately vaulted back to prominence with a 13-4 AFC South championship in 2025. The Jaguars have made the playoffs nine times, won five division titles (1998, 1999, 2017, 2022, 2025), and reached three AFC Championship Games (1996, 1999, 2017), but remain one of four franchises, along with Cleveland, Detroit, and Houston, never to appear in a Super Bowl.