Sep 12, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Buffalo Bills tight end Quintin Morris (85) looks on after the game against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Jaguars sign veteran TE Quintin Morris

The Jacksonville Jaguars added depth at tight end with the signing of veteran Quintin Morris on Wednesday.

Terms were not disclosed but Fox Sports reported it was a one-year deal for the 26-year-old free agent.

Morris played in 16 regular-season games for the Buffalo Bills last season and started three, catching five passes for 36 yards and one touchdown. He played 79 percent of their special-teams snaps (324) and was primarily a blocking tight end behind Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid.

Over the past three seasons in Buffalo, Morris had 15 receptions for 146 yards and three scores in 45 games (four starts). He played 912 snaps on special teams and 680 on offense over that time.

The Bills did not tender him a contract after he became a restricted free agent this offseason. The Jaguars also have likely starter Brenton Strange after losing tight ends Evan Engram (Denver Broncos) and Luke Farrell (San Francisco 49ers) in free agency.

–Field Level Media

Oct 27, 2024; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Gabe Davis (0) before the game against the Green Bay Packers at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

Jaguars cut WR Gabe Davis, take $20.3M cap hit

The Jacksonville Jaguars released wide receiver Gabe Davis on Wednesday in a move that will see the team absorb a $20.3 million dead cap hit.

Davis signed a three-year, $39 million contract in March 2024. His $1.5 million salary for 2025 and $10 million signing bonus were fully guaranteed, however, per ESPN.

He caught 20 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns in 10 games (nine starts) last season before sustaining a torn meniscus in his left knee on Nov. 17 in a 52-6 loss to the Detroit Lions.

The Jaguars also parted ways with fellow wide receiver Christian Kirk in March, trading to him the Houston Texans. Jacksonville then moved up three spots to No. 2 in the 2025 NFL Draft last month and selected versatile receiver/defensive back Travis Hunter out of Colorado.

Second-year receiver Brian Thomas Jr. set franchise rookie records in catches (87) and receiving yards (1,282) in 2024.

Davis, 26, had 163 catches for 2,730 yards and 27 touchdowns in 64 games (47 starts) with the Buffalo Bills. He was selected by the Bills in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of UCF.

–Field Level Media

Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd (33) runs on the field before an NFL football matchup Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]

Report: Jags won’t pick up option for LB Devin Lloyd

The Jacksonville Jaguars are declining the fifth-year option for linebacker Devin Lloyd, ESPN reported Wednesday.

Lloyd, 26, would have been due a guaranteed $14.571 million in 2026 had the Jaguars picked up his option.

Instead, the 27th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft will hit the free agent market after the 2025 season.

Lloyd has recorded 355 tackles, four interceptions, four fumble recoveries and two sacks in 48 games (46 starts).

He led the Jaguars in tackles in 2024 (113) and was second on the team in 2023 (127) and third in 2022 (115).

NFL teams have until Thursday to exercise the fifth-year options for 2022 first-round draft selections.

–Field Level Media

Sep 30, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins linebacker Emmanuel Ogbah (91) reaches for Tennessee Titans running back Tony Pollard (20) during the second half at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

Jaguars agree to deal with veteran DE Emmanuel Ogbah

The Jacksonville Jaguars agreed to a deal with defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah on Sunday.

The Jaguars didn’t divulge terms but ESPN reported the veteran pass rusher landed a one-year deal worth up to $5 million.

Ogbah, 31, has 47.5 career sacks in 123 games (87 starts) over the past nine seasons. He recorded his career best of nine sacks in back-to-back seasons (2020 and 2021) for the Miami Dolphins.

Last season, Ogbah had 49 tackles, five sacks and one forced fumble in 16 games (all starts) in his fifth and final season with Miami.

Ogbah was a second-round pick in 2016 by the Cleveland Browns after playing collegiately at Oklahoma State. He spent three seasons with the Browns and one with the Kansas City Chiefs before joining the Dolphins as a free agent.

Overall, Ogbah has 50 tackles for loss and 112 quarterback hits. He has 317 tackles, nine forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries.

Ogbah joins a Jacksonville front line that includes two-time Pro Bowler Josh Hines-Allen (53 career sacks) and 2022 No. 1 overall draft pick Travon Walker (team-high 10.5 sacks last season).

–Field Level Media

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ first-round pick, Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver and defensive back Travis Hunter, left, answers questions as General Manager James Gladstone, right, sits next to him during a press conference Friday, March 25, 2025 at Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]

Grading the Jaguars’ Draft

Grade: B

Best Pick: CB/WR Travis Hunter, No. 2 Overall

What We Liked: That Travis Hunter trade was incredible. Getting two top-end weapons for the price of one is worth any amount of pick capital you have to pay to get up there. James Gladstone is making an incredible splash in his first year as a general manager with this trade and did lots of draft maneuvering that worked to his advantage. The Wyatt Milum pickup solidifies the offensive line well and Bhayshul Tuten should be a really strong dynamic duo with Tank Bigsby to take pressure off Trevor Lawrence.

Not Sure About: Hmm, lots of announcing guys who aren’t going to play the position they did in college, shifting over to somewhere else. Caleb Ransaw played all slot corner last year and is looking to be used at safety, Jalen McLeod got announced as a linebacker when his natural fit is as an edge rusher, Wyatt Milum is likely shifting from tackle to guard. If these guys don’t do well at their next position, the Jaguars’ depth class is pretty much toast.

–Dean Bruce, special to Field Level Media

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ first-round pick, Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver and defensive back Travis Hunter, left, answers questions as General Manager James Gladstone, right, sits next to him during a press conference Friday, March 25, 2025 at Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]

Jaguars GM jacked about adding ‘rare person, rare player’ Travis Hunter

No. 2 overall pick Travis Hunter might need no introduction in Jacksonville, but Jaguars general manager James Gladstone played hype man on Friday seated to the left of the Heisman Trophy winner and two chairs away from head coach Liam Coen.

“As we sit here, Travis Hunter is a Jacksonville Jaguar. Thinking about the sport of football and the power of the game itself, it’s capacity to ignite belief,” the 34-year-old Gladstone said. “Belief in ourselves, belief in others. Belief in achieving what many may deem impossible. Travis Hunter embodies belief. He’s a rare person. He’s a rare player. But he is a reminder that the boundaries of the game of football were built to be challenged. The decision to draft him was actually a statement – a statement for how we plan to move and who we are. And we want him to be nothing more than him. Because when he is, he elevates the space around him. From the football field, to the city, to the game of football itself. Travis Hunter is who we’ve been hunting up.

“I couldn’t be more jacked to be sitting right here beside him to introduce you to the man of the hour,” Gladstone said.

The Jaguars entered the draft with 10 total picks and made tidal waves at the outset on Thursday, trading the fifth and 36th pick, a fourth-round selection (126) in 2025 and their first-round pick in 2026 to the Cleveland Browns for the No. 2 pick, a fourth-rounder (No. 106) and a sixth-round selection (200).

The Florida native was giddy about being called home by the Jaguars. He hadn’t talked to anyone in the organization since February at the NFL Scouting Combine until his agent intimated something might be coming. Hunter said he started looking for homes in the area because he just had a feeling it would wind up being Jacksonville.

“They believe in me … they trust in everything that I’ve done. I’ve just got to go out there and prove it right,” Hunter said Friday. “It’s definitely a lot of motivation. They sacrificed a lot to get me. That means they believe in me. And that just validates that I need to go ahead and just do my job.”

Hunter’s NFL job description is not yet written in ink. He knows for certain he’ll wear No. 12 and be on the field as much as the coaching staff allows.

Hunter was drafted to be a wide receiver but will also get chances at cornerback as the plan stands Friday. Coen said sports science, position coaches, team physicians and personnel bosses would all have input on the best way to deploy Hunter.

He played both positions and averaged over 113 snaps per game at Colorado in 2024. He was the Heisman winner, Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, AP college football player of the year, and the Jaguars are convinced he’s just getting started.

Hunter said he’s already on a first-name basis with quarterback Trevor Lawrence. They met at an Adidas commercial shoot in Hawaii, and is a proud member of the unofficial Brian Thomas Jr. fan club. The Jaguars’ first-round pick last season, Thomas was the 23rd overall pick and set the Jaguars’ single-season rookie touchdown receptions and receiving yards records.

Whether Hunter gets a chance to defend Thomas on the practice field remains to be seen.

“We do have to be fluid throughout,” Coen said. “We’ll have a plan right now of primarily on offense with learning the defensive system and practicing on the defensive side of the ball as well throughout this offseason program. We have to be fluid throughout this whole process.

–Field Level Media

Wide Receiver Matthew Golden of Texas poses with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and President and CEO of the Green Bay Packers Mark Murphy after being selected twenty-third overall pick by the Green Bay Packers during the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft at Lambeau Field on April 24, 2025 in Green Bay.

Analysis: 3 winners, 3 losers from first round of NFL Draft

One round out of seven is complete at the 2025 NFL Draft, so it’s far too soon to hand out draft grades. There will be steals aplenty on Friday and Saturday, and even more future busts.

That said, Thursday packed plenty of punch in the first 32 picks. Who were the winners and losers of Round 1? Here are three nominees for each:

Winner: The Jaguars (and Trevor Lawrence)

It’s a new day in Duval County. The franchise has been stuck in the mud and is moving on to Lawrence’s third full-time head coach in five years. So new GM James Gladstone sent a big package to Cleveland, moved up three spots to No. 2 and snagged Heisman winner Travis Hunter, who plans to play both wide receiver and cornerback in the pros. (Would Trent Baalke have made that move?) Hunter and Brian Thomas Jr. should make a terrific receiving tandem for Lawrence.

Winner: Green Bay

The NFL probably doesn’t need to bring the draft to every city that has a franchise, but Green Bay was a standout choice for the history of the Packers and Lambeau Field. The Packers fans in attendance got to celebrate the unthinkable: their team drafting a wide receiver in the first round. Green Bay hadn’t done so since taking Javon Walker in 2002, mid-Brett Favre era. Speedster Matthew Golden of Texas could be Jordan Love’s No. 1 target this year.

Winner: The SEC

Although just one of the first six selections came from a Southeastern Conference school, it didn’t take long for the floodgates to open. The SEC ended the night with 15 first-round picks, nearly half of the first round, tying its own record set in 2020. Honestly, the 2020 mark was more impressive because the league hadn’t expanded to add Texas and Oklahoma yet. In the most predictable move of the night, the Philadelphia Eagles grabbed Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell at No. 31, adding to a defense that resembles an All-SEC first-team unit.

Loser: Shedeur Sanders

That quote that circulated this week from a veteran NFL assistant coach was an all-timer. “He’s so entitled.” “He blames teammates.” “He’s not that good.” But that quote wasn’t the reason Sanders dropped out of the first round. If anything, it may have been a window into an overall feeling around the league that Sanders wasn’t first-round worthy. The question becomes who will snap up Sanders on Day 2, and whether he stands a chance at a starting job in 2025.

Loser: Cowboys fans

Jerry Jones has a thing for offensive linemen named Tyler. The Cowboys’ owner and self-appointed general manager spent first-round picks on the left side of their offensive line in Tyler Smith (2022) and Tyler Guyton (2024). Now, Alabama’s Tyler Booker is headed to Dallas to play right guard. Most Cowboys fans would have preferred just about anything else with the No. 12 pick, very high for an interior lineman. For context, he’s replacing the retired Zack Martin — picked 16th overall in his draft.

Loser: Tommy DeVito

Wheel another chair into the New York Giants’ quarterback room. After taking edge rusher Abdul Carter third overall, the Giants traded back into the first round for a QB, passing over Sanders to pick Jaxson Dart from Ole Miss. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more confusing quarterback group than Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston, Dart and DeVito. Barring injury, the local boy affectionately known as “Tommy Cutlets,” who made eight starts the past two years, doesn’t stand a chance of making the roster now.

–Field Level Media

Apr 24, 2025; Green Bay, WI, USA; Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver Travis Hunter is selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars as the number two pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Jaguars GM: Travis Hunter can change ‘trajectory of the sport’

Jaguars general manager James Gladstone was in a celebratory mood in the hours after trading up from the No. 5 spot to select two-way star Travis Hunter with the second overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft on Thursday.

Gladstone said the Jaguars won’t be shy about how they viewed Hunter.

“There are players who have the capacity to alter a game,” Gladstone said. “There are players who have the capacity to alter the trajectory of the team. There are very few players who have the capacity to alter the trajectory of the sport itself. Travis, while he has a lot to still learn, in our eyes has the capacity to do just that.”

The party atmosphere wasn’t limited to Gladstone, a 34-year-old running his first draft after nine years with the Rams.

“Arik Armstead FaceTimed us from Green Bay,” first-year head coach Liam Coen said. “You couldn’t hear anything. It was a crazy atmosphere.”

Gladstone described feeling the room light up when Hunter entered the room at the NFL Scouting Combine. Out of fear of tipping their hand, Gladstone kept the team’s interest in acquiring the pick and the player to themselves until reaching out to Hunter’s agent.

“When he walks into the room, the light turns on. That (15-minute interview) was a moment that resonated with us,” Gladstone said. “It was really telling with the mind, the curiosity, the interest in growth.”

Gladstone said preparation made the franchise confident in making the move — and sacrificing next year’s first-round pick — standing on the principle that he wouldn’t be pleased if he looked back at “not doing something out of fear.”

“That’s not something I intend on doing the rest of my life,” he said. “Not being scared. Courage goes a long way.”

“This is certainly a statement for how we plan to move, how we plan to operate,” Gladstone said Thursday night of the bold move to acquire the Heisman Trophy winner.

Hunter showed no fear of the unknown as a college player, averaging more than 115 snaps per game as a wide receiver and cornerback.

“He is somebody who is deserving as a first-round draft pick as a wide receiver. And he is worthy as a first-round pick as a corner,” Gladstone said. “We’re excited about just getting him in the boat, so to speak.”

Gladstone said the Jaguars considered Hunter “rare” as a player and a person. He was universally praised by evaluators for his mental approach as a key reason he became a productive player at two vital positions.

“The accountability — the way that he’s in the facility at 5 a.m. training his body. He’s a 4.0 student. Goes on the field, he impacts the game. On both sides of the ball, he impacts the game,” Coen said. “He’s got a great feel for the game itself. Really good ball skills. He can do something with it after the catch.”

–Field Level Media

Apr 24, 2025; Green Bay, WI, USA; Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver Travis Hunter is selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars as the number two pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Titans land QB Cam Ward, Jaguars splash with Travis Hunter move

GREEN BAY, Wis. — After the Tennessee Titans tabbed Miami quarterback Cam Ward as the first overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft as expected, the Jacksonville Jaguars traded up from No. 5 to grab Colorado’s two-way star Travis Hunter with the second pick.

In addition to the second overall pick, which they used to select the 2024 Heisman winner, the Jaguars also received a fourth-round pick and sixth-round pick. The Browns received the No. 5 overall pick and selected Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham. Cleveland also received second- and fourth-round picks this year, and a first-round pick in 2026.

Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi said the franchise was almost certain Ward would be the pick before the NFL Scouting Combine in February even before meeting the person because of what they saw from him as a player.

“We pretty much had all the questions answered probably three weeks (before) the draft,” he said.

At No. 3, the New York Giants selected Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter and the New England Patriots followed by making a promised upgrade to the offensive line in front of 2024 No. 3 pick Drake Maye. The Patriots welcomed LSU left tackle Will Campbell at No. 4.

Despite speculation other teams were angling to move ahead of the Raiders, Las Vegas held onto the No. 6 pick and went with Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty. Jeanty rushed for 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns in 2024. The Raiders were No. 32 in the league in rushing with 1,357 total yards and no ballcarrier with more than 420 yards.

Ward passed for 4,313 yards and 39 touchdowns, both single-season school records, last season at Miami, being named ACC Player of the Year. He began his collegiate career with two seasons at FCS Incarnate Word before transferring to Washington State, where he played two more seasons, before his final season at Miami.

Hunter, who followed coach Deion Sanders from Jackson State to Colorado, had 96 receptions last season for 1,258 yards, averaging 13.1 per catch with 15 touchdowns.

Jeanty finished his college career with 4,769 rushing yards and 50 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 80 passes in his career with six scores.

–Jim Hoehn, Field Level Media

Apr 24, 2025; Green Bay, WI, USA; Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver Travis Hunter on the red carpet before the 2025 NFL Draft at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Jaguars swap with Browns, draft Travis Hunter No. 2 overall

The Jacksonville Jaguars made a massive trade with the Cleveland Browns to acquire the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft on Thursday, which they used to select Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter.

The 2024 Heisman Trophy winner plans to play both wide receiver and cornerback in the NFL.

The Jaguars moved up three spots from No. 5 overall. Per reports, they also sent the Browns second- and fourth-round picks in the 2025 draft and their first-round selection in 2026. Jacksonville will also receive 2025 fourth- and sixth-round picks from Cleveland.

In 2024, Hunter hauled in 96 receptions for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns, adding one rushing touchdown. On defense, he recorded four interceptions, 11 pass breakups and 36 tackles.

–Field Level Media