How Caleb Ransaw Earned the Jaguars Trust Before Ever Playing a Snap

The Jacksonville Jaguars are not afraid to let Caleb Ransaw hit the ground running, even without a rookie season of reps.

Jul 23, 2025; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Caleb Ransaw (27) participates in training camp at Miller Electric Center. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Caleb Ransaw was drafted nearly 14 months ago, and he is still looking for his first NFL snap after a training camp injury ended his rookie season before it ever had a chance to begin.

Despite appearing in zero games last year due to the season-ending foot injury, Ransaw is one of several second-year Jaguars whose performance in 2026 will be critical. The Jaguars are ready to trust him with a big role and let him run with it, too, even without any live reps from his rookie season ... and it is easy to see why.

Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Caleb Ransaw (27) hauls in a pass during a drill during an NFL training camp fourth session at the Miller Electric Center, Sunday, July 27, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ransaw's Role

That is not to say Ransaw should be expected to enter his second season as a Week 1 starter. The Jaguars have a reliable veteran safety in the form of Eric Murray, and fourth-year safety Antonio Johnson has stepped up as a leader in the room after a breakout season in 2025. That means Ransaw's most likely role is as the No. 3 safety, which is still a critical part of Anthony Campanile's defense after the Jaguars were amongst the NFL's leaders in three-safety looks last season.

But how has Ransaw already earned a chance at such a role without any snaps on the field in live action? What could he possibly have shown while on injured reserve last year for the Jaguars to have such optimism and high hopes for his official debut?

Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Caleb Ransaw (27) hits a tackling pad during the Jacksonville Jaguars’ third mandatory minicamp Thursday June 12, 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

Reserve and grit. The Jaguars have talked about mental and physical toughness being core pieces of their DNA since they hired their new regime last year, and Ransaw showed that in spades as a rookie.

"He didn't flinch. That was the best thing that I saw out of him," Jaguars defensive backs coach Anthony Perkins said this week at the end of the Jaguars' offseason program.

"Obviously, when it happened early in training camp last year, nobody was fired up to hear the news, him being at the forefront of that. But to his credit, not one time have I seen him in this building with his head down with any sort of woe is me mentality. Like no, not one time has he felt sorry for himself, not one time was he dejected or kind of removed."

Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Caleb Ransaw (27) smiles with safety Cam'Ron Silmon-Craig (32) during the second mandatory minicamp at Miller Electric Center Wednesday, June 11, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

That is simply what Ransaw had to do; he had no other choice. Had Ransaw took the punch from losing his rookie season and dwelled on it, the Jaguars would have likely entered the 2026 season with some questions as to what this year would bring. But instead, Ransaw earned their trust day in and day out, all while recovering.

Ransaw showed strength and maturity in doing so, turning a bad situation into a chance to learn and grow. That growth has brought Ransaw to where he is now, and it certainly earned him some respect inside the Jaguars' building.

Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Caleb Ransaw (27) hauls Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Caleb Ransaw (27) hauls in a pass while running routes during the seventh organized team activity at the Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. Monday, June 2, 2025. | Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"He showed up every single day all the way through training camp, and then through all 17-18 weeks of the season last year, bright-eyed, big smile on his face, fully engaged, taking meticulous, crazy notes," Perkins said.

"You know, I would sit with him in the meeting rooms, in our big unit rooms, I'd always peek over just to see what the notebook was looking like, and he's taking better notes than some of the other guys in the room that we're playing."

Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Caleb Ransaw (27) and defensive end Danny Striggow (92) drill jduring the first day of minicamp at the Miller Electric Center, Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ransaw will stlll have to earn his role in training camp and likely the preseason. But if he attacks those chances the same way he attacked his rookie year and then his return to the practice field during the Jaguars' offseason program, then he could quickly prove to be a difference-maker in the Jaguars' defense

"So he's done a tremendous job, did a tremendous job all of last year, and continue to do so over the course of the spring, he's got a little bit of a chip on his shoulder, knowing that he lost out on the year, knowing that he lost out on all those reps from last year," Perkins said.

"So I know that he's shown up this spring with a certain mentality, but I can't say enough good things about him as a person, as a competitor, and how he approached a really unfortunate situation last year."