JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
GP from Savannah, GA
Funny how the folks complaining about the current roster moves were the same people screaming for a change in the direction of the team by firing the coach and GM. Can't placate them at all.
The Jaguars late this past week made a series of moves in advance of Wednesday's start of the 2025 NFL League Year, and these moves indeed inspired many complaints from – and more than a little angst for – many Jaguars fans. This is unsurprising because a few players parting ways with the team were popular, and because fans – like most normal people – instinctively balk at change. To review: The Jaguars this past week released tight end Evan Engram and wide receiver Josh Reynolds, and they reportedly will trade wide receiver Christian Kirk to the Houston Texans for a seventh-round selection in the 2026 NFL Draft. Center Mitch Morse announced his retirement, and the team also reportedly plans to release cornerback Ronald Darby and wide receiver/returner Devin Duvernay. The Kirk/Engram moves have proved the most bothersome to many people, which is unsurprising considering they have at times been very productive for this franchise – and considering both are very popular among Jaguars fans. But remember: The Jaguars changed the general manager and the head coach this offseason. They also went 4-13 last season. These are circumstances that often mean roster turnover and a change in organizational direction. That's what this past week was about for the Jaguars – and it was destined to play out that way whatever the level of screaming it inspired.
DJ from Grass Valley, CA
I'm confused, O! Why is everyone talking about our cap number without regard to this year's increase on the 12th? Am I just trippin', or do we have another 24ish million to play with as of Wednesday?
I'm sorry you're confused. Confusion can be, well, confusing. The NFL's salary cap for 2025 is $279.2 million, up $23.8 million from 2024. The Jaguars currently are projected to enter the '25 NFL League Year on Wednesday at 4 p.m. with $234.9 million on the cap, meaning they are currently projected to have about $60.2 million In cap space. I don't know what everyone is talking about because I don't know or read everyone.
Steve from Nashville, TN
What is our 2025 dead cap money tracker up to now?
The Jaguars as of this weekend according to spotrac.com have $58.8 million in dead cap for 2025.
Lenny from London
Hey, O man. I was wondering if players that are released count towards compensatory picks or if it's only free agents?
The NFL awards compensatory draft selections based on an equation based on gains/losses in unrestricted free agency from the previous offseason. Unrestricted free agents are the ones whose contracts expire at the end/start of the league year. Players who are released and players who are signed after being released, while free agents, do not figure into this equation.
Brian from Round Rock, TX
Replacing free agents with free agents is a loser move. Thoughts? Filling holes with free agents is a maxim that is moldy. Thoughts?
I would like to see the Jaguars in the long run move as far as possible from an approach that overemphasizes free agency. That's the idealist in me. The realist in me knows that it's difficult to never participate in free agency, particularly when you're changing organizational direction. The Jaguars will sign free agents this week. The hope here is that they draft well enough in the coming offseasons to sign fewer and fewer free agents in the coming offseasons.
John from Jax
Hi, KOAGF. What would have been the salary cap hit this year if Engram would have been retained versus the amount in releasing him?
Engram has a dead cap hit of $13.5 million in 2025. His cap figure for '25 would have been $19.49 million had he been retained.
Anita from Springfield
All right. I've calmed down a bit. While disappointed, I keep coming back to a key reason for my continued optimism. We got the Big Bo in the room, and he'll make sure we're doing what's right. Gonna trust in the process, even if I'll miss the guys.
One fer TB71.
Eddie from Jacksonville
Do Brenton Strange and Parker Washington have the skills to fill the gap?
Jaguars tight end Brenton Strange and wide receiver Parker Washington figure to have a chance to have key roles in the offense moving forward. Will they have the production in 2025 that Engram and Kirk had in their peak Jaguars seasons? Perhaps not. But remember: Kirk and Engram combined to play 17 games in 2024, catching a combined 59 passes for 744 yards and two touchdowns. There's a decent chance Strange and Washington can replace that.
Steve from AB
Does the trade as opposed to the release of Christian Kirk have cap implications?
No. Kirk will count $13.5 million on the Jaguars cap if – as expected – he is traded to the Houston Texans and he will count that amount if he is released.
Almonzo from Jacksonville
Imagine how much power and potential we'd have with the first pick in the draft, whether it be through picking the best overall player or trading back for major reward. All we had to do was lose to the Tennessee Titans once. But YES, we swept them!!!!!!! WOOOOOO!! All these players that we're now flushing down the toilet this offseason got to have warm, happy feelings in their tum-tums!!!! I'm not saying that the team should've thrown one of those games, because that doesn't happen in the NFL. What I'm saying is that the fans who thumped their chests and howled at the moon after we beat the Titans the second time are morons. It was utterly, completely meaningless. Except for the bunch of losers getting those aforementioned happy feelings in their tummies.
While I understand there are people who love this storyline, I just can't get on board – and not just because of the condescension dripping from each word. After a decade and a half of discussing it far too often, I just have reached a point where it's not interesting. It's sports. Fans want to see their team win. At its core, there's something off for a lot of people about rooting for your team to lose – even if it means a better draft selection. If you choose to do it, fine. If not, that's fine, too. Players are never going to try to lose – no matter how much people love to discuss it late in difficult seasons. OK. That's it. I'm done for now.
Robthe duuuuuuuuuuu
Mekhi Becton is 363 pounds and helped Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquan Barkley rush for over 2,000 yards this past season. If there is a shiny new toy the Jags need in free agency, it's a 363-pound guard. That might help us get a yard when we need it.
Yes, it might.
Bradley from Sparks, NV
I have heard a lot about who the Jags plan to draft at No. 5 but very little about 37 or whatever it is, which is also a huge selection. Best available I guess but just haven't heard any names as possibilities.
That's because there are 36 players to be selected before No. 37. You can throw out names at the spot. The accuracy of those names is a different matter.
Drew from Buford, GA
I am not shocked we had to move on from Engram and Kirk. Probably the right financial move. What is disheartening, combined with the other losses, is that we already had so many holes to fill. Now we have another three-to-four more to tackle. Fifth year of quarterback Trevor Lawrence coming up and it's still in rebuild mode. It's hard to look at this coming year as anything but a rebuilding year with no expectation of being a playoff team. Crazy things can happen and just hoping we strike some game changing free agents this year. I salivate just thinking of what our offense might be with DK Metkalf opposite Brian Thomas Jr.
We have a tendency when watching the NFL to ignore reality and bask in perception. The perception is that Kirk and Engram were incredibly valuable core pieces. This was reality in 2022 and 2023. It was more perception in 2024. The Jaguars moving on from Engram was about them trying to deal with reality and put themselves in the best position in 2025 and beyond. The Jaguars were 4-13 last season. They're moving on from players who were injured and unproductive last season. That means the holes that they created last week were realistically already there.
Matt from Jacksonville
A lot of folks were storming the castle with torches wanting to "blow the whole thing up". Now that it's blown up, they're crying about roster moves. Some people would complain if you hung them with a brand-new rope.
Fans fan. It's what they do.
