The Jacksonville Jaguars were among the seven teams that one analyst believes will be hit hard by the 2026 free agency period.
Matt Okada of NFL.com ranked the seven teams that will be hit the hardest by free agency this offseason, taking into account available cap space and key players who are set to become free agents.
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The Jaguars came in at No. 7 on Okada’s list. As he notes, Jacksonville is $11.4 million over the projected 2026 salary cap. So there is work to be done to create additional cap space. This can be accomplished through contract restructures, certain extensions, and veteran cuts.
In addition to the Jaguars’ financial situation, they have several free agents who were important contributors last season, including Travis Etienne, Devin Lloyd, Andrew Wingard, Greg Newsome, and Montaric Brown.
“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’s a chance they take two steps back after 2025’s big step forward,” Okada wrote.
The reality of the NFL is that not all of those players will be back. But Gladstone did invest two draft picks last offseason in the running back, safety, and linebacker positions — three units represented by the pending free agents mentioned above — in preparation for this offseason.
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In addition to that, while the Jaguars do not have a first-round pick, Gladstone has 11 picks in total to work with, including four in the top 100. The opportunity to find impact players still certainly exists.
So free agency may be limited somewhat, but I’m not overly concerned about where the roster is at or Gladstone’s ability to address any needs.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Jaguars will get ‘hit hard’ in 2026 NFL free agency