Explaining the Jaguars Cap Situation Entering Minicamp

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars will kick off mandatory minicamp next week, and the roster seems just about set.

There always remains the possibility, of course, that the Jaguars can make a move at any time. That comes with the turf with an aggressive and forward-thinking general manager like James Gladstone. But what kind of bandwidth do the Jaguars have to make any moves in terms of cap space?

JAMES GLADSTONE — Mar 30, 2026; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars general manager James Gladstone during the 2026 NFL Annual League Meeting at the Arizona Biltmore. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Jaguars Cap Situation

According to OverTheCap, the Jaguars have $9,720,525 which ranks No. 26 amongst all franchises. The Jaguars only added two external free agents this offseason in the form of running backs Chris Rodriguez Jr. and Ameer Abdullah. Neither of those players fetched very large deals, with Rodriguez's deal looking like a bit of a steal considering what he has done so far in his career.

Jacksonville did sign several players to big extensions this offseason, such as cornerback Montaric Brown (three years, $31.8 million) and defensive end Travon Walker (four years, $110 million). They also re-signed other pieces like linebacker Dennis Gardeck and Quintin Morris, while they added two big extensions before the season ended with wide receiver Jakobi Meyers (three years, $60 million) and offensive tackle Cole Van Lanen (three years, $51 million).

The Jaguars could have some ability to make a move by continuing to use void years, which they did this offseason with Patrick Mekari, Jourdan Lewis, and other deals. This does not mean the Jaguars could not make moves, especially now that the compensatory draft pick formula is no longer a factor. The Jaguars were not very active in March and April due to that very formular, but all options can now be on hand.

"We're at a stage now where a higher volume of draft capital is what we're hunting up in those compensatory picks. When you think about high-priced free agents of ours ended up signing elsewhere, well deserved contracts. A lot of guys that have already announced the signing, they did their part to put themselves in really sound positions to earn that and excited for all those guys. In return, by not signing any outside free agents, we recoup 2027 draft capital," Gladstone said in March.

"And I think on its surface, you would think, oh, okay, you're going to make picks in 2027. Whereas in reality those draft picks and having more of them actually allows you the luxury of remaining in the hunt at different intervals throughout the entire calendar year for acquiring players."

One factor the Jaguars do have to consider is the fact they are ninth in dead cap with $54,773,874. The Jaguars are swallowing that tough pill this season, though all the dead money comes off the books after the 2026 season. Right now, the four top players the Jaguars are paying dead money for are Tyson Campbell ($19,520,000), wide receiver Gabe Davis ($14,600,000), cornerback Greg Newsome ($7,052,934), and safety Darnell Savage ($6,200,000).

With that in mind, Jaguars do have several big-name free agents on the horizon of big pay-days such as Parker Washington, Brenton Strange, Antonio Johnson, Anton Harrison, and others. Some of the Jaguars' cap space will have to be earmarked for whichever of that group the Jaguars retain moving forward.

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