The Jaguars restructured the contracts of defensive ends Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker last week in preparation for the 2026 regular season, per Ryan O’Halloran of The Florida Times-Union.]
Jacksonville dropped Hines-Allen’s salary down to the veteran minimum of $1.3MM with the remaining $5.7MM converted into a signing bonus and prorated across the next five years of the contract, including existing voids in 2029 and 2030. His cap hit went down by $4.56MM (via OverTheCap), just enough to make Jacksonville cap-compliant before Week 1.
Hines-Allen’s cap charges in each of the next four years will go up by $1.14MM as a result, bringing him to $41.29MM in 2027 and $42.04MM in 2028. That could put another extension in play as early as next offseason, though Allen’s age and declining production could be an obstacle. He posted 17.5 sacks and 17 tackles for loss in 2023, earning his second career Pro Bowl and the five-year, $150MM extension that the Jaguars just restructured. But in the two seasons since, he has just 16.0 sacks and 22 TFLs – still solid numbers for a starting edge rusher, but not enough to merit another top-of-the-market deal.
2026 could therefore be a pivotal reason for the next stage of Allen’s career. Returning to his peak form may enable him to push for an extension in a market that has exploded since his last set of negotiations.
The details of Walker’s restructure remain unknown. He signed a four-year, $110MM extension earlier this offseason that featured a $9.41MM cap hit and a $4.5MM salary in its first year (via OverTheCap). The Jaguars could clear up to $2.63MM in space via a maximum restructure – dropping his salary to the veteran minimum and prorating the rest over the full length of the contract as a signing bonus. That would get Jacksonville up to nearly $7MM in cap space heading into the season, enough for standard week-to-week expenses but perhaps not a splash move at the trade deadline.