James Gladstone Pulls No Punches On Crafting First Jaguars Roster

For Jacksonville Jaguars general manager James Gladstone, this week was a week of firsts.

After years of serving as Los Angeles Rams general manager Les Snead's right hand man, Gladstone sat in the general manager chair on cut down day for the first time in his career on Tuesday.

First Roster

jacksonvill — Feb 25, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars general manger James Gladstone speaks during the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Now, it was his decisions, his messaging, his roster, and his practice squad. His draft picks making the roster, his vision being put into motion, and his time to make his mark.

"There were some pretty deep and thoughtful conversations over the course of the offseason, training camp and then the lead-up to, ultimately, the conversations we had to have with players that led to this, they carried a lot of weight. They weren't conversations in the lead-up that were taken lightly," Gladstone said on Wednesday at the Miller Electric Center.

"They weren't conversations in the moment of informing players of our decision that were light. They came with some weight. We certainly value transparency and being thoughtful in not only the decisions, but also how that's relayed to each and every player, knowing that they put in a ton of effort and energy into giving their best to this organization, to their teammates, to the coaching staff, who are attempting to get the best version out of themselves."

Teamwork Paramount

Gladstone worked side-by-side with head coach Liam Coen and executive vice president of football operations Tony Boselli to craft the 53-man roster, with each fellow leader also going through their first rodeo.

Jacksonville Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen, left, talks with Jaguars Executive Vice President of Football Operations Tony Boselli after the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 18th and final training camp practice at Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. Wednesday August 20, 2025. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Years of experience prepared Gladstone for the moment, though, and the first-time general manager can now look forward with hope and lessons learned.

"I know that for the first time actually to be the person to have to walk through that with guys, it was certainly eye-opening in a way that I just didn't have the experience to point back to. So certainly, some lessons that I can be able to apply moving forward to continue to level up in that space, that I look forward to doing when that time comes again," Gladstone said.

Jacksonville Jaguars general manager James Gladstone, left, talks with Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen, right, after the. Jacksonville Jaguars’ mandatory minicamp Tuesday June 10, 2025 at the Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"But very much appreciate anybody who stepped into this building and participated over the course of the last few weeks in training camp to give ourselves a really good position here moving into the regular season, where we feel like we're becoming the best version of the 2025 Jaguars at the right time.

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