Jacksonville’s 2025 draft class is officially under contract.
The Jaguars announced on Thursday that fourth-round pick Jack Kiser has signed his four-year rookie deal.
Kiser, a linebacker, was selected at No. 107 overall out of Notre Dame.
That means all nine of Jacksonville’s draftees, starting with receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter, are ready to go for training camp. The Jaguars’ official rookie report date is July 19, with veterans set to report on July 22.
Entering his fifth year in the league, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence has experienced a taste of the postseason.
But now, as the club goes into a new era with James Gladstone as General Manager and Liam Coen as head coach, Lawrence wants the franchise to be more consistently competitive.
In an interview with Pardon My Take released this week, Lawrence noted that even as he tries to treat all seasons the same, he knows realistically this one is not.
“[W]here I’m at in my career, I’m going into Year 5. Been an up-and-down, so far, four years for me,” Lawrence said. “And just our team and our situation, this is the third head coach I’ve had. A lot of turnover, a lot of change. But I really feel good about the situation we’re in. I love coach Coen, and the whole staff, and everyone that’s in — all the guys that were brought in in free agency. Just good dudes, good players, too.”
Lawrence added that the system Coen’s implementing is “tried and true,” and has proven to be good for quarterbacks. That’s ideal for what Lawrence would like to help his team do next.
“Where I’m at in my career, Year 5, it’s time to go and start winning consistently and be not just that team where it’s like, you know — you’re always like, no one really takes you seriously,” Lawrence said. “You want to be that team that’s always competing for the playoffs, Super Bowls, and you’re in the hunt.
“So, of course, I see it through that lens — it’s Year 5 and I feel like this is getting into my prime. I’ve got a lot of good years ahead of me, and I need to turn it on. And I think what we’ve built around me, what they’ve done this offseason has been a great start.”
Lawrence, who played only 10 games last season, noted that he’s fully healthy and ready to go for training camp. He completed 60.6 percent of his passes for 2,045 yards with 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 2024.
All NFL rookies face a transition period when they enter the league, but Jaguars first-round pick Travis Hunter is facing a somewhat steeper one than most of his peers.
Hunter will be playing wide receiver and cornerback for the Jags this season, which means he’ll be doing twice as much work as a player who concentrates on one position. The Jaguars eased him into that process by devoting almost every day of the offseason program to one of those spots and quarterback Trevor Lawrence said this week that Hunter has handled the extra workload well to this point.
“Travis has been great — just his work ethic, how he’s come in,” Lawrence said, via Jamal St. Cyr of WJXT. “He’s been one of the hardest-working guys we have. I think it’s commitment to learning the playbook and trying to learn the two systems. It’s a lot on a rookie, it’s challenging to learn everything and he’s done a nice job. We still have work to do and we’re going to get a lot done in training camp and get us ready to play come September. I’m really excited for him and how he can help our team.”
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce recently identified one potential way opposing teams will test Hunter’s ability to remain effective while playing both ways and teams will come up with other avenues to force the rookie into uncomfortable situations. The Jaguars are betting Hunter can handle it and watching that play out will be a big storyline in Jacksonville this fall.
Former Jaguars executive Amit Patel’s legal problems aren’t over, even after pleading guilty to federal charges.
Patel, who is serving a 6.5-year sentence, has been charged with six counts of grand theft under Florida law. He embezzled $22 million from the team.
There’s no federal law against theft; it’s a state-law issue. The federal sentence arose from a guilty plea to wire fraud and an illegal monetary transaction.
And so Patel will now face additional jail time for the six counts under Florida law for stealing the money he stole from the Jaguars.
His lawyer has blamed the embezzlement on a gambling addiction. Patel also has sued FanDuel and others for “actively and intentionally target[ing] and prey[ing] on Plaintiff with incentives, credits, and gifts to create, nurture, expedite, and/or exacerbate his addiction with the only possible outcome that he would ultimately hit rock bottom.”
With a 6.5-year federal prison term and more coming for theft under Florida law, rock bottom could end up being another level or two lower for Patel.
Jaguars fans will have eight chances to see first-round pick Travis Hunter play wide receiver and defensive back during this summer’s training camp.
The team announced their training camp schedule on Tuesday and July 23 will be the first open practice of the summer. The Jaguars will also welcome fans to their practice facility on July 24-25, July 27-29, August 3, and August 5.
In addition to those open practices, the Jaguars will also hold a scrimmage at Everbank Stadium on Friday, August 1.
Tickets for all of the open practices as well as the scrimmage are available through the team’s website.
Brian Thomas Jr. is the rising star. Travis Hunter is the new kid on the block.
Dyami Brown could end up being the quiet difference maker.
Via Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com, Jaguars coach Liam Coen expects the former Commanders receiver to have a bigger role in Jacksonville than he had during his four years in Washington.
“You look at somebody that’s able to attack the field at all three levels,” Coen said of Brown, via DiRocco. “He can go down the field on the post, in the ‘go,’ in the pylons and be the top shelf, but also you can throw him a screen and he can go and do something with it. I can’t coach that. I can’t coach you to go and make three people miss after you’ve caught the ball. . . . That’s what he can do.
“Hopefully, he’ll be able to help us at all three levels. He’s hungry. He’s coming off a successful end of the year. He wants to continue to do that.”
It was a very successful end of the year. In the fourth and final year of a rookie deal that saw the third-round pick never really break out, Brown had a moment in the 2024 postseason. After full-season yardage totals of 165, 143, 168, and 308, he caught 14 passes for 229 yards in three playoff games to cap his time with the Commanders.
Now, the goal is for Brown to do more.
“You didn’t really see him work the intermediate that much [in Washington], and I think over the course of this spring, Trevor [Lawrence] and him have gained a little bit of a chemistry on some of those intermediate in-breakers, curls, maybe ‘out’ cuts,” Coen said. “Part of the selling point to have him come here was, ‘Man, we really want to continue to diversify your route tree and have you do more. You’re not just a screen, jet sweep, vertical threat.’”
He signed a one-year, $10 million deal in Jacksonville, with $9.5 million guaranteed. While not a major contract given a market that’s four times that amount, it’s more than most would have expected Brown to make based on three disappointing seasons to start his career.
Now, Brown has a chance to turn things around — and to enjoy plenty of single coverage, given the presence of Thomas and Hunter.
As Travis Hunter prepares to be, potentially, the first full-time two-way player since Chuck Bednarik, one of the best tight ends of the past decade has a very simple assessment of the way teams will deal with him.
They’ll try to wear him out.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, appearing on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast, provided a simple assessment of what offenses will do to Hunter, when he’s playing defense.
“Teams are going to be going after him,” Kelce said, via Andrew Battifarano of the New York Post. “They’re going to try and make his day miserable. . . . Dude, if he plays corner, they’re just going to run deep balls at him all day. . . .
“The wide receivers just take off on him all day. Just to try to get him tired. Why wouldn’t you just attack him that way?”
It’s an interesting strategy, and it makes sense. Target Hunter for excessive physical exertion. Force him to run up and down the field while playing defense. Through four quarters (especially on a hot day in Florida), how will he be able to play offense, too?
Beyond the raw ability to play receiver and cornerback or the time needed to prepare to handle both roles on game day, there’s a very real limit to how much anyone can do in one three-hour window. If/when Hunter tries to double it, the opposing offense can try to double him over in exhaustion.
We’ve recently taken a look at the coaches on the hot seat for 2025. This week, a reader asked the same question as it relates to quarterbacks.
Plenty of them are feeling the heat, or should be, this season. Let’s take a look at each spot, based on the loose arrangement of the conferences and divisions that has been tattooed onto my brain.
Justin Fields, Jets: His contract has $10 million in guarantees that spill into 2026. That’s not enough to guarantee him two years as the starter. He needs to do enough in 2025 to earn 2026 — and beyond.
Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins: His contract guarantees his pay through 2026. If the Dolphins fall flat and change coaches, the next coach likely will want a fresh start at quarterback. While the cap charges will complicate a split before 2027, every high-end quarterback contract eventually leads to a big cap charge when the relationship ends. The next coach (and the next G.M., if owner Stephen Ross cleans house) may want to rip the Band-Aid off in one motion.
Aaron Rodgers, Steelers: He says he’s pretty sure this is his last year. If he doesn’t play well enough for the Steelers in 2025 and if he wants to keep playing in 2026, the Steelers may give him the same cold shoulder that Russell Wilson got after 2024.
All Browns quarterbacks: With Jacksonville’s first-round pick in their back pocket, the Browns could be in position to get a future franchise quarterback in next year’s draft. That raises the stakes for every quarterback currently on the Cleveland roster. Because there’s a chance none of them will be the starter in 2026.
Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson, Colts: It already feels like Jones will be the Week 1 starter. He’ll then have a chance to lock the revolving door the Colts have had since Andrew Luck retired. If he doesn’t, the Colts will be looking elsewhere in 2026. As to Richardson, his best play is to play better than he ever has, if and when he gets the chance.
Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars: Every new coach wants his own quarterback, except when the coach inherits a true franchise quarterback. But Tony Dungy landing with Peyton Manning doesn’t happen very often. And it’s not clear whether Lawrence is a short-list franchise quarterback. He was on track to be one as of 2022. The past two years haven’t been good enough, long-term contract notwithstanding. What do coach Liam Coen and G.M. James Gladstone want? If Lawrence doesn’t play better in 2025 than he did in 2024, Lawrence and everyone else may find out in 2026.
Geno Smith, Raiders: He’s being mentioned simply to say he’s not on the hot seat. He has $18.5 million in guarantees for 2026, and his close ties to Pete Carroll will keep Smith around for at least two years. (Unless, of course, a certain minority owner decides otherwise.)
Dak Prescott, Cowboys: He’s probably not on the hot seat, because his $60 million per year contract would wreak havoc on the salary cap if the Cowboys were to cut or trade him (yes, he has a no-trade clause, but he can waive it) in 2026. The complication for the Cowboys is that his $45 million salary for 2027 becomes fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2026 league year. They’re basically stuck — all because they waited too long to give him his second contract, and then waited too long to give him his third contract.
Russell Wilson, Giants: If he’s the Week 1 starter (if Jaxson Dart lives up to his first-round draft stock, Wilson shouldn’t be), the clock will be ticking. Immediately. In 2004, the Giants benched Kurt Warner after nine games for Eli Manning, even though the Giants were 5-4 at the time. When Dart is ready, Dart will play. Even if Wilson makes it through 2025 without getting benched, he’ll have to do plenty to keep Dart on the sideline for 2026.
Jordan Love, Packers: He’s not on the hot seat per se, but he needs to play better in 2025 than he did in 2024. If not, he will be on the hot seat in 2026. The wild card in Green Bay is new CEO Ed Policy, who operates as the de facto owner of the team.
J.J. McCarthy, Vikings: He’s getting his shot to play, after a knee injury wiped out his rookie season. Anything other than an outright disaster will ensure his status for 2026. At worst, he’d have to compete with a more established veteran next year.
Tyler Shough, Saints: He’ll need to do enough in 2025 to earn the chance to do well enough in 2026 to get the Saints to not pursue the grandson of Archie Manning in 2027. (And, yes, I think Arch Manning will spend two years as a college starter before entering the draft.)
Bryce Young, Panthers: In year three, he needs to continue the growth he showed late in the 2024 season, in order to secure a fourth season, the fifth-year option, and ideally (for him) a second contract.
Kyler Murray, Cardinals: His contract gives him two more years of financial security. But this is the team that drafted Murray a year after using the 10th overall pick on Josh Rosen (not Lamar Jackson). So who knows what the Cardinals will do if Murray doesn’t propel the team into contention this year?
Sam Darnold, Seahawks: He has a one-year deal, as a practical matter. And the Seahawks seem to really like rookie Jalen Milroe. Darnold will need to play very well to secure his status for 2026.
Matthew Stafford, Rams: It’s not the “hot seat” as much as it’s a mutual understanding that player and team are taking things one year at a time. After the season, both sides will have to recommit. Whether the Rams will want to do that depends on how Stafford plays in 2025, and on their other options for staffing the position in 2026.
That’s a lot of names. But it’s no surprise. There aren’t many true, unquestioned, year-after-year franchise quarterbacks. And the teams that don’t have one are always hoping to find one.
It has created more quarterback movement in recent years than ever before. Plenty of the names listed above will be on the move in 2026.
As a rookie last season, Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. was one of the team’s few bright spots, catching 87 passes for 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns. And the Jaguars think he’s only getting better.
Jaguars wide receivers coach Edgar Bennett said Thomas has shown this offseason that he wants to keep growing as a receiver, and as a team leader.
“He’s definitely taken more of a leadership approach and role, and he speaks up. And it’s not just from a verbal standpoint, he also leads by example. And so that’s another way he’s helping the entire room,” Bennett told the Florida Times-Union.
Thomas himself has said leadership is a priority of his this offseason, noting that he wants to help rookie Travis Hunter as Hunter attempts the rare feat of playing both wide receiver and cornerback.
Bennett said it’s good to see a young player like Thomas, who was a Pro Bowler as a rookie last season, wanting to continue to grow.
“He’s definitely not resting. He doesn’t have that . . . that’s not in him. He always seems like, when talking with him, he has that approach as far as he wants to be the best. And so with that, he put the work in and so that’s his approach,” said Bennett. “He puts the work in, the effort is there each and every day and it starts in the classroom. The moment he walks through the door, it’s almost as though he’s already in that mode as far as the classroom, walkthrough, practice field, weight room, whatever, he’s giving it his all.”
In Thomas and Hunter, the Jaguars think they have a couple of special young playmakers who are as hard working as they are talented.
When Welsh rugby player Louis Rees-Zammit announced last year that he would move overseas to try to make it in the NFL, he was taking a big risk by giving up stardom at home for a sport he had never played before. So far it hasn’t paid off, but he says he’s giving himself a year or two to keep trying.
Rees-Zammit originally went to the Chiefs and played running back for them in the preseason last year, then was cut by the Chiefs and signed to the Jaguars’ practice squad as a wide receiver. He’s still in Jacksonville and said he thinks he’s got some more time to figure out the American game.
“International players get probably two to three years to make it in the NFL,” Rees-Zammit told TalkSport.com. “So I wanted to do it at a time where I maybe could come back to rugby. I’m 24 now, probably got one to two more years to try and make it depending on how this year goes. I’ll be 25, 26 when I go back to rugby. I like to think I can still play at the highest level.”
Rees-Zammit said he thinks training in the NFL may prove to make him a better rugby player in the future.
“When I was playing rugby, I went to America twice to train and the things I learned there I knew straight away would help my game. Now, having two years of it, I think if I did have to go back I’ll definitely be able to excel again,” he said.
But first he’ll try to excel in Jaguars camp, and hope they keep him around for the regular season.
