On Wednesday, the Jacksonville Jaguars officially closed the book on its 13-win 2025-26 season with a joint media availability by Liam Coen and James Gladstone.<\/p>\n
Among the many topics discussed by Jacksonville\u2019s head coach and general manager were the numerous impending free agents<\/a> whose fates must be decided in the coming months.<\/p>\n Here are some of our key takeaways from Coen and Gladstone\u2019s comments on that subject.<\/p>\n Gladstone was asked about the futures of several players with expiring contracts, such as Devin Lloyd, Greg Newsome II, and Montaric \u201cBuster\u201d Brown.<\/p>\n One of the organization\u2019s top upcoming decisions is whether to re-sign LB Devin Lloyd, who just finished his contract season with the most interceptions by an NFL linebacker (5). Many would expect the second-team All-Pro to be a key piece for defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile moving forward.<\/p>\n While Gladstone was effusive in his praise of what Lloyd accomplished in 2025, he stopped short of indicating any plans for the linebackers\u2019 contract extension.<\/p>\n \u201cSuch an impactful season. What he meant to our end result was certainly notable. The way in which he operated on a daily, weekly basis was really cool to watch and observe. He committed himself to being the best version. The connection between him, the coaching staff was real. He was being deployed in the right ways. He felt confident the ways he was doing it from both defense and special teams. Talking about a guy playing at an all-pro level on defense but is running it down on kickoff every time we score and making plays for us. Extremely happy for Devin and his production this season and finding real footing in a way that aligned with what he knew he could be. Look forward to working through the offseason process with our coaching staff and everyone else to determine what\u2019s best for everybody and seeing if there\u2019s something to be done. But nonetheless, the role that he had in what we did this season was real and I think it was very vivid for all to see.\u201d<\/p>\n While this may be just this writer\u2019s opinion, this feels pretty similar to the statements made when the team decided not to pick up Lloyd\u2019s fifth-year option<\/a> before the season (while picking up Travon Walker\u2019s). I could be wrong in reading too much into this, but this feels to me like Lloyd may not be back in Jacksonville in 2026.<\/p>\n Just for comparison, these were Coen\u2019s comments on declining Lloyd\u2019s fifth-year option in April.<\/p>\n \u201cNo plans right now in terms of we\u2019re having those conversations, getting used to the player, right? We\u2019ve just got to get used to him a little bit and get to know him a little bit. We\u2019re excited about him, a guy that we see we can do some things with. Like, we do feel excited about some of his versatility and experience, so some of those conversations will be open and honest, and communicated.\u201d<\/p>\n Lloyd is obviously a good player. The issue is that if the Jaguars want to keep him, they may have to reset the off-ball linebacker market to do so.<\/p>\n While the Jaguars\u2019 general manager did not directly mention Newsome, his comments about WR\/CB Travis Hunter could be closely tied to how the team views the cornerback room\u2019s status and depth.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously you can take a peek at expiring contracts on our roster and which side of the ball has more. Obviously at this point walking into the offseason, corner is a position that we have a few guys who are on expiring contracts. By default, you can expect there to be a higher emphasis on (Travis Hunter\u2019s) placement. I think from Liam\u2019s perspective, he can share it, but the steps he was taking by the midpoint of the season really made us feel good about what the back half of the year was going to be like on both sides of the ball and what that impact was going to look like being a feature point on offense and an impact player on defense. It was disappointing timing but nonetheless feel good about where we are heading into this offseason and what next year should hold.\u201d<\/p>\n If Hunter is to be considered a true two-way player moving forward, with an increased emphasis on the defensive side of the ball following 2025, then the cornerback room would likely bring back just one of Newsome or Brown. Between the two, Newsome would be the cheapest to re-sign, according to Spotrac\u2019s estimated market values.<\/p>\n CB Montaric \u201cBuster\u201d Brown<\/p>\n When asked about Brown, Gladstone did not hold back his praise for the veteran cornerback, noting that Brown\u2019s offseason production gave the staff confidence to move on from Tyson Campbell<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, that\u2019s another one that\u2019s in alignment with Parker Washington. What you saw in the offseason program and in training camp was authentic. It was real. He was getting his hand on the ball endlessly. His skill set aligned with the scheme in a true form. And I think that that probably from last season to this season was something that many could understand on their own, but he\u2019s very comfortable operating in it. He\u2019s very effective in it. I think that that certainly gave us the confidence. His mode of operation is one of trust. I think that gives a coaching staff certainly a willingness to give it an attempt even if walking into the season or looking outward in you may not have identified Buster as being a starting cornerback or not and certainly proud, just like with Devin, to see his output continue to climb over the course of the season and make a real dent in our result.\u201d<\/p>\n