The Jacksonville Jaguars entered the 2025 postseason having never won or even made a Super Bowl. History might've been against them, but after winning the AFC South and ending the regular season on an eight-game winning streak, it felt as if this season was the team's best chance of finally getting to the Big Game in a playoff field as wide open as any in recent memory.
Not only did the Jaguars fall short of that goal, but they failed to win a single postseason game. Sure, beating Josh Allen, the best quarterback in the NFL, is very difficult, but it felt as if this Jags team was more than capable of doing so. Now, as the team hopes for better luck in the 2026 season, there's a good chance the Jaguars will be without these five players.
WR Dyami Brown
Coming off his best season, the Jaguars signed Dyami Brown to a one-year, $10 million deal last offseason, hoping he'd play a role in the team's offense. Brown answered the bell in the first two weeks, averaging four receptions and 54.5 receiving yards in those contests, but unfortunately, he was a non-factor most of the rest of the way. In fact, Brown recorded just 118 receiving yards the rest of the way, and he was a healthy scratch in Sunday's game.
Brown was given opportunities, but never made the most of them after the first two weeks and was on the outside looking in down the stretch. The Jaguars are set at the receiver position with Brian Thomas Jr., Parker Washington and Travis Hunter. There's no need to bring Brown back.
EDGE Emmanuel Ogbah
Emmanuel Ogbah parlayed back-to-back 5+ sack seasons into a one-year, $5 million deal with the Jaguars last offseason. The deal made a lot of sense for Jacksonville, as Ogbah figured to add depth to a defensive line that needed it.
Well, Ogbah played just 38 percent of the defensive snaps in his 13 regular season appearances, recording 0.5 sacks all season. He was then listed as a healthy scratch for Sunday's game alongside Brown. Ogbah is now a 32-year-old with 10 years of experience under his belt. It's fair to wonder just how much gas he has left in the tank. He'll probably get a chance to prove he can still play, but that opportunity will have to come elsewhere.
WR Tim Patrick
Looking for a veteran to pair alongside their young, emerging wide receiver corps, the Jaguars traded for Tim Patrick ahead of the 2025 regular season. Patrick was coming off a strong season as a depth receiver with the Lions, so there was every reason to believe that, as long as he could stay healthy, he could have another strong season with Jacksonville. That didn't happen, though.
Patrick had just 15 receptions for 187 yards and three touchdowns all year. He played in just 31 percent of the team's offensive snaps in the regular season, and was a non-factor in Sunday's game, failing to catch his one target. Patrick is a fine depth receiver, but he didn't play much in Jacksonville, and with three stout receiver options in front of him, there's a good chance both sides will want to move on.
LB Devin Lloyd
Devin Lloyd is an example of a player the Jaguars would almost certainly want to bring back but might not be able to. After three pretty underwhelming seasons to start his NFL career, the 2022 first-round pick broke out in 2025, setting career-highs with five interceptions and 10 QB hits while also recording six tackles for loss. He carried his momentum into Sunday's game, recording six tackles and even recovering a fumble in the loss.
Lloyd was a key piece to a very underrated defense all season long, but that fact also makes it likely that he's going to want to be paid like an important player. The Jaguars can find a way to make it work, but doing so with the limited cap space they're projected to have while also making necessary upgrades is easier said than done, especially for a player who was mostly mediocre before this season. It feels more likely than not that Lloyd will command a deal the Jags won't want to hand out.
RB Travis Etienne
Travis Etienne had arguably his best season in 2025, recording over 1,100 yards on the ground and nearly 300 yards in the air while scoring 13 total touchdowns. He tacked on another 100+ yard from scrimmage game on Sunday, including a receiving touchdown. Etienne was one of the best players on an offense that hummed basically all season, and he's been a 1,000+ yard rusher in three of his four seasons, so letting him walk would be a controversial decision.
Controversial doesn't mean wrong, though. Etienne is a very good running back, but he's also a running back. Not only do the Jaguars have Bhayshul Tuten, a player they just drafted whose role elevated throughout the year, but they also have Liam Coen, a tremendous play-caller who can make the offense function even without Etienne. Paying a running back isn't something many teams want to do, so letting Etienne, a running back who will fetch a hefty contract (for a running back), walk, and attempting to use their savings to improve elsewhere, wouldn't be surprising, especially when the Jaguars would likely be just fine without him.
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