Team news: Jacksonville Jaguars | Page 5

Coming out of Clemson in 2021, quarterback Trevor Lawrence was hailed as the Prince that was Promised to save and fundamentally transform the Jacksonville Jaguars franchise. Five years into his time in the NFL, whether or not that fundamental transformation has occurred is up to the interpreter.

Now, Lawrence enters Year 5 of his NFL career under a new coach in Liam Coen, and yet again is under the microscope that comes with his billing coming out of college and a contract worth $55 million annually. 2025 marks an ample time for Lawrence to live up to what's expected of him, and he made it clear he's aware of that during an appearance on Pardon My Take.

"I feel like this is like getting into my prime," Lawrence said. "I got a lot of good years left ahead of me, and I need to really turn it on. And I think what we've built around me and what they've done this offseason has been a great start."

While Lawrence has had his share of success, including in a Pro Bowl season in 2022 that culminated in a comeback playoff win against the Los Angeles Chargers, he has also not been able to transcend the Jaguars franchise's issues around him. After collapsing in the second half of the 2023 season, the Jags plummeted further to 4-13 in 2024 as Lawrence dealt with turnover issues, injuries, and all that had been built up around him by coach Doug Pederson fell apart, the story all said. The union with Coen this season is giving a lot of hope around the team, especially the offensive side of the ball.

The 2024 first-round pick, Brian Thomas Jr., had an electric rookie season with 87 catches for 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns, so it’s fair to argue he’s already broken out. But considering that production on a bad team with turbulent quarterback play, Thomas could explode if the Trevor Lawrence-Liam Coen pairing works out the way it’s been envisioned. — Jeff Howe

Related players: Travis Hunter

Howe went on to point out with Hunter on the other side, defenses will have to decide where to load their coverage. If Hunter comes as advertised as a full-time wideout, Thomas could soon be knocking on the door as one of the league’s premier receivers, Howe went on to say. Thomas is already poised to go early in the second round of drafts.

The Jaguars have released WR Gabe Davis, who was due $12.5M this season.

Related Players: Brian Thomas Jr., Travis Hunter, Brenton Strange, Dyami Brown

Davis played in only 10 games for Jacksonville last season, accruing a 20-239-2 stat line while playing mostly out wide. If he were to have stuck around, he likely would have been a deep rotational piece playing behind the newly-acquired Dyami Brown (and Travis Hunter).

The Lions have exercised the 2026 fifth-year team options on DE Aidan Hutchison and WR Jameson Williams.

Related Players: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Tim Patrick, Kalif Raymond, Tom Kennedy

Good news for fantasy, as there aren't many better places for Williams to be than alongside ARSB and Sam LaPorta clogging up the middle of defenses. Williams should continue to operate as a nice boom-bust WR3 option, even if the Lions tack on some WR talent through the NFL Draft.

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence will be limited in the spring as he continues to recover from surgery to repair the AC joint in his left shoulder and is on schedule to be fully cleared by the time training camp begins.

Jaguars coach Liam Coen said that there isn't yet a set plan for how much throwing Lawrence will do but that Lawrence is being monitored by vice president of player health and performance Jeff Ferguson and Will Wynkoop, his personal strength coach, as the offseason program progresses.

Related Players: Nick Mullens, John Wolford

Lawrence had surgery on his shoulder on December 17th, the same shoulder he had worked on back in February of 2021. In a new offensive scheme under Liam Coen and OC Grant Udinski, it would be nice to see him out there through most of the offseason program, but we'll keep an eye on the situation.

WR Dyami Brown to the Jaguars on a one-year $10 million deal worth up to $12 million.

Related Players: Brian Thomas Jr., Parker Washington, Gabe Davis

This is more likely to cut into Davis's snap share than it will create a fantasy commodity out of Brown. Even with this signing, the Jaguars could very well add another pass-catcher before Spring is over.

Jaguars plan to release veteran WR Christian Kirk, per source.

Related Players: Brian Thomas Jr., Gabe Davis, Parker Washington

Kirk will look for new employment on an increasingly fertile WR free agent landscape after a disappointing 27-catch 2024 performance in which he logged only eight games. Brian Thomas Jr. is already appropriately earmarked for a WR1 season, but this certainly doesn't hurt things.

Vikings officially will not be tagging QB Sam Darnold, per sources.

Related Players: J.J. McCarthy, Nick Mullens, Daniel Jones

While this doesn't necessarily mean Darnold will not be playing in Minnesota, it does make McCarthy and even Jones more interesting at the time of this news. Potential teams Darnold could land on include the Raiders, Giants, and Jets, among others.

Browns game status for Week 17 vs. the Dolphins:

Jameis Winston - questionable
David Njoku, Ogbo Okoronkwo and Cedric Tillman - out

Related Players: Jordan Akins

With Njoku out Akins should get plenty of run, but it's not quite enough to stick him in TE streaming considerations.

Browns TE David Njoku has a knee injury.

Related players: Jordan Akins

There isn't much more about the injury. Njoku was dealing with a hamstring injury coming into the game but still put up a 8-66-0 line in a Week 16 loss. Njoku has been on fire as of late, despite not playing in Week 15. He had a 7-42-1 line in Week 14 and a 9-52-2 line in Week 13. It doesn't seem to matter who the QB is, Njoku has been heavily involved so those counting on him in what is likely your Week 17 finals will want to monitor his practice schedule this week. The Browns host the Dolphins in a later Sunday window game.