The Jacksonville Jaguars’ 2026 captain group has a familiar core, but two new names are getting the nod for the first time, and head coach Liam Coen likes what that says about the locker room.
In the team’s first meeting before Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns, eight players were selected by their teammates for captain duties. Six of them are holdovers from last season: Trevor Lawrence, Robert Hainsey, Foyesade Oluokun, Josh Hines-Allen, Jourdan Lewis and Logan Cooke.
The two first-time captains are veteran additions who earned respect quickly. Coen said the voting was deeper than just a handful of obvious choices.
"We had a ton of guys on this team get votes and get a decent amount of votes," Coen said. "Wasn't just like the one or two that you get because you're friends with somebody; there was a lot of quality human beings and people that were in the mix to become captains."
One of those new captains is long snapper Ross Matiscik, who has spent his entire NFL career in Jacksonville and has built a strong reputation around the league. He’s a three-time Pro Bowler, a two-time All-Pro First Team selection and a one-time Second Team pick. Coen pointed to more than just the résumé, though.
"I think he is really ascending as a leader on this team," Coen said. "I think he's really - I mean, look, three-time Pro Bowler, that speaks for itself, but I think his maturity, presence, accountability in there as well, I think will really help Logan and Cam and those guys as they lead that special teams unit."
Jakobi Meyers also drew captain-level impact after arriving in the middle of the season. He wasn’t officially named a captain, but Coen made it clear the influence was obvious from the start.
“He may as well have been [a captain] in terms of his impact and influence on our team,” Coen said.
Lawrence and Hines-Allen, each with six captain selections, are now the first players in franchise history to earn the honor six times. Coen said both continue to grow as leaders, even as the roster overall gives the team plenty of options.
"Those guys have continued to ascend in the leadership category, but we had a lot of guys that we could have named captains," he said. "So it's a good group."
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