The Jacksonville Jaguars spent much of the summer checking boxes elsewhere on the roster, but one spot still looks unfinished: linebacker.
That issue is more than just a depth concern. It’s a real Week 1 problem, and it starts with the void left when Devin Lloyd walked in free agency to the Carolina Panthers. Lloyd had been one of Jacksonville’s biggest defensive playmakers a year ago, and his departure left Foyesade Oluokun without the same kind of partner on the second level.
The Jaguars didn’t make a major push to replace him. Their only offseason addition at the position was seventh-round Parker Hughes, and he’s now on season-ending injured reserve. That pushed the competition back to the in-house group: fourth-year veteran Ventrell Miller and second-year linebackers Jack Kiser and Branson Combs.
Kiser’s path disappeared almost immediately. He hurt his knee on the first day of training camp, then was waived and re-signed to the practice squad. From there, it became a summer-long battle between Miller and Combs, with no clean winner emerging and the team apparently leaning toward a platoon.
Even that, though, doesn’t solve the bigger issue. Miller and Combs bring youth more than experience, and the injuries to Kiser and Hughes left Jacksonville thin behind them. The Jaguars tried to patch that hole by signing veteran Jahlani Tavai early in camp, and he wound up claiming the No. 5 linebacker job on the 53-man roster.
Still, the number itself tells the story. Jacksonville is carrying only five linebackers, down from six a year ago.
Part of that comes from the injuries. Part of it comes from how the roster is built now, with more depth on the defensive line and one of those spots going to the front instead of linebacker.
“There’s a little bit of roster math that looks different than last year on that front. So lighter at LB, but heavier across the defensive front.” Jaguars general manager James Gladstone said Tuesday.
Gladstone pointed to the defensive end competition as part of that decision, and specifically noted Zach Durfee’s IR designation for return and Bryan Thomas Jr.’s rise through the offseason and preseason.
“We had a real good competition going there and brewing on the edges for our defensive ends, and that consisted of a lot of young guys. They were doing their parts and earning their paths.
Ultimately, [DE] Zach Durfee went on IR with a designation for return. Nonetheless, we're certainly happy with what we've seen from that group in particular on the ends.
And [DE] Bryan Thomas Jr.’s emergence over the course of this offseason and through the preseason games themselves has certainly lent us to keep him on the 53-man roster.”
That leaves Jacksonville with a linebacker room that still feels light, especially when it comes to proven NFL starts. Miller has 11 starts, while Combs has none. Those are the two younger pieces the Jaguars may need to count on early.
But the more interesting answer might not come from linebacker at all.
The Jaguars have already shown a willingness to handle passing downs with more safeties and fewer linebackers, and that direction looks set to continue in 2026 with Caleb Ransaw and Jalen Husket, both recent top-100 picks. That gives the team another way to cover for its linebacker shortage without forcing a fix that isn’t really there.
“Yeah, I think you look at obviously some of the trends in the NFL and some of those heavier groupings and what you have to combat that with is making decisions whether you're going to go heavier at linebacker and go bigger people, or are you investing a little bit more in some of the bigger skill players on defense?" Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said in May.
"That big skill that can play maybe at the safety position, drop down to the big nickel, play some dime WILL. I think that's something that's important to us.
It's been important to us really before all these trends kind of started, was that multiplicity and ability to play different positions. And it also helps you on special teams when you have big, longer athletes at DB that can match up with whether it be tight ends, linebacker type bodies on special teams, is really important.”
So yes, the Jaguars still have a linebacker question. But the most likely solution may come from elsewhere on the defense, with safeties and hybrid pieces doing some of the work that would normally fall to a traditional linebacker. For now, that looks like their best path.
In Other News...
Jaguars Just Opened The Door For A Bigger Move Than Fans Expected
The Jaguars created a little more breathing room in their payroll by restructuring Josh Hines-Allens contract, converting $5.7 million of his 2026 base salary into a signing bonus and opening up $4.56 million in cap space for this season. It is the kind of move teams often make when they want to stay nimble, and for Jacksonville it comes with a clear purpose: give the front office more room to maneuver as the year unfolds.
General manager James Gladstone said the adjustment was designed to provide financial flexibility for possible roster additions or extensions down the line. Jacksonvilles cap space now sits at $14.22 million, a healthier position than earlier in the offseason, and it leaves the door open for something bigger if the right opportunity surfaces. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Fans Are About To Get An Unusual NFL Season Start
The NFL is shifting its 2026 regular-season start to Wednesday, Sept. 9, an unusual change prompted by a scheduling conflict with the leagues first regular-season game in Australia, which will air in the U.S. the following day. For Jacksonville fans used to the familiar Thursday-night launch, it means the new season will arrive a little earlier in the week than normal, with Seattle hosting New England in the opener.
It also keeps the football calendar moving in a way that should feel familiar enough for fans around here, even as the timing changes. College football already got underway on Saturday, Aug. 29, with Florida State opening its season, and Florida is set to play Sept. 5, so the stretch from late summer into early September is already packed before the NFL even gets its first whistle. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Suddenly Changed Course Behind Trevor Lawrence For One Big Reason
The Jaguars made a quick pivot behind Trevor Lawrence ahead of cutdown day, sending a 2028 sixth-round pick to Miami for quarterback Quinn Ewers. The move gives Jacksonville a new No. 2 quarterback and reshapes the depth chart at a spot the team wanted to stabilize before the roster deadline, with Nick Mullens no longer on the active roster after being released.
James Gladstone praised Mullens for the way he handled the situation, noting his professionalism and value to the team as Jacksonville kept him around on the practice squad. For the Jaguars, the transaction was less about the price tag than the protection it provides if Lawrence ever needs help, and it leaves one of the more interesting backup-spot decisions of the summer in a new place. [Read more 🡒]