Training camp is done for the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the next move is all about trimming the roster down before Sunday afternoon.
There’s still one more preseason game left against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, plus a pair of joint practices this week, but the bigger picture is already taking shape. A few players who entered camp as long shots or question marks have done enough to make the final decisions a lot tougher.
Ameer Abdullah looks like he’s all but claimed the No. 4 running back job. With LeQuint Allen Jr. injured, Abdullah’s case for a 53-man roster spot only got stronger after his performance last week against the Carolina Panthers.
He kept stacking good days throughout camp, and his workload with the first-team offense kept growing as the summer went on. Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski had plenty of praise for him on Wednesday.
“Ameer’s been awesome to be around. I was fortunate enough to be around him briefly in Carolina and it's like time has stood still," Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski said on Wednesday.
"I mean, he hasn't changed at all. He works so hard at it.
He's one of the first guys in the building taking care of his body, doing all the extra work ... But he's such a pro about it, his approach from the off-field stuff, taking care of his body and that carries over the same way he prepares in the classroom, in the meeting room, film study, all that stuff."
At linebacker, the injury situation has opened a path for Jahlani Tavai. Jack Kiser has been out all camp after suffering a knee injury on the first day of practice, and Tavai arrived not long after that.
He’s shown up as a run defender and blitzer, and the Jaguars’ coaches have clearly noticed. Earlier in camp, Liam Coen pointed to his physical play, his communication, and his value on special teams.
“He's a great dude. I thought he played physical in the game.
He's a communicator. He's a team guy.
He's a four-core special teams type guy," Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said earlier in training camp. "He's had to come in and take a lot of reps in a hurry.
There's no flinch to him. There's no looking like a deer in headlights, even though he just got here.
He's a pro. He's a pros pro.
He knows how to handle himself. He's been in some of these situations before.
Hopeful that he's going to be able to continue to help us.”
Jabbar Muhammad also forced his way into the conversation. He already had a strong spring, but he needed to back it up in camp to stay in the mix, and he did exactly that.
He finished as one of the team’s summer leaders in pass breakups and interceptions, then carried that momentum into joint practices with the Buccaneers. At this point, he looks lined up as the Jaguars’ No. 5 cornerback.
For an undrafted rookie to crack this roster, the bar is high. Bryan Thomas Jr. has at least made it interesting.
Once the pads came on, he kept flashing, and he’s been one of the most disruptive players on the field in both preseason games. If he gets in, he’ll likely have to beat out seventh-round pick Zach Durfee for the sixth defensive end spot.
The Jaguars got two undrafted rookie defensive ends onto the roster last year in Danny Striggow and B.J. Green, and Thomas has put himself in that same conversation.
“He definitely has shown me some things. He's played explosively in the games, and I think he's jumped out," Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile said a few days ago.
"His play style, his effort, that's jumped out. And that's what we saw in him watching his tape at South Carolina.
He was a guy that was going to run and hit. He was going to play his ass off every play.
That's what, honestly, we really liked about him and we were fired up to get him in here for that reason. He's proven to do that here in the summer and since the spring, since he's been here.”
Matt Dickerson may have been overlooked outside the building when camp opened, especially with Ruke Orhorhoro ahead of him in the conversation. That’s changed fast. Dickerson has made himself hard to ignore, and he now looks like a lock for the roster and for the Jaguars’ No. 3 defensive tackle job.
He’s done damage both against the run and as a pass-rusher, and he even added a pick-six of Trevor Lawrence on a screen during the final week of practice. Josh Hines-Allen made it clear the camp has turned heads inside the locker room, too.
"Shout out to Matt, man. He's been having a heck of a camp," Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen said earlier this week.
"I'm excited for him. I think we're going to be as stout as ever upfront.
I can't wait to get going again.”
In Other News...
Jaguars Defense Just Got The Kind Of National Respect Fans Wanted
The Jaguars defensive front is starting to draw the kind of attention that usually comes only after a team makes life miserable for opposing quarterbacks, and ESPNs Mike Clay added to that buzz by slotting Jacksonvilles edge rushers fifth among NFL position groups entering the 2026 season. Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker remain the headliners there, giving the Jaguars a pair of proven pass-rush threats at a spot that can tilt games every Sunday.
The praise did not stop on the edge, either. Clay also placed Jacksonvilles cornerback group in the top 10, with Travis Hunter, Jourdan Lewis, Montaric Brown and Jarrian Jones forming a secondary that looks increasingly deep, while the linebacker room landed just outside that top tier at No. 11. For a defense that has spent recent seasons trying to earn broader respect, the league-wide view suggests the Jaguars may finally be assembling the kind of unit that can carry more than its share of the load. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Face A Real Debate After ESPN's 2026 Warning
ESPNs Bill Barnwell put the Jaguars on a list of NFL teams he believes are most likely to decline in 2026, a reminder that last seasons progress may not be as easy to repeat as it first looked. The case against Jacksonville is rooted in the kind of warning signs evaluators always circle back to: a run of close wins, an unusually strong turnover margin and fumble recovery rate, plus a late-season schedule that may have been friendlier than it appeared.
Even so, the picture is not all doom and gloom for Jacksonville. Barnwell also pointed to some real positives, including continuity in the coaching structure and signs that the teams connections and overall health are improving. The debate now is whether the Jaguars are poised to build on that stability or whether last years better breaks are likely to regress, leaving them facing a tougher climb in 2026 than some around the league might expect. [Read more 🡒]
Trevor Lawrence Knows Jaguars Are Entering A Very Different Stretch
As training camp winds down, Trevor Lawrence says the Jaguars are moving into a very different kind of stretch, one where the daily rhythm changes and every rep starts to feel tied to the opener. The focus has shifted from building the roster and grinding through camp to sharpening the details that matter most once the games count, with Cleveland looming as the first real test.
Before Jacksonville gets there, it still has one more exhibition to handle in the preseason finale against the Buccaneers on Aug. 28. Lawrences comments fit the moment the Jaguars are in now: camp is nearly over, the regular season is close enough to change how everyone prepares, and the next few days are about making sure the teams attention is exactly where it needs to be. [Read more 🡒]