The Jacksonville Jaguars saw that their secondary was one of the worst in the league during Doug Pederson's final season, which led new GM James Gladstone to spend as much time and effort as possible to remake this unit on the fly. In just a few months, Gladstone has made progress.
Not only did the Jags pull off an era-defining Travis Hunter trade right after signing Jourdan Lewis in the early stages of free agency, but they also flipped the safety room by replacing Pederson holdover Andre Cisco with third-round draft pick Caleb Ransaw, sixth-rounder Rayaun Lane III, and free agent signing Eric Murray.
As with any new injection of talent, however, there will be losers that end up finding their playing time cut down to nothing. Despite years of meritous service, fan favorite and special teams ace Andrew Wingard might have played some of his last games in Jaguars teal.
Wingard has bounced in and out of the starting lineup throughout a six-season career with the Jaguars, but unless he proves himself to be a superior coverage man when compared to any of the new additions, it seems unlikely that he will stick around for most of the Liam Coen era.
Andrew Wingard could be released by Jaguars after offseason additions
One of the two starting roles is already locked up by virtue of Darnell Savage. Murray, who started 14 games last season in a very deep Texans secondary, figures to be in the pole position for the second starting spot.
Wingard has primarily been a special teams ace and backup defensive back, save for a 2021 season in which he started 15 games on the defense. After grading out as the 14th-best safety in the league in PFF's eyes despite his very limited diet of snaps, there is still some meat left on the bone for Jacksonville to work with.
Ultimately, Murray's strong 2024 season and the potential of what Ransaw and Lane could be in this defense could help each of them surpass Wingard. Antonio Johnson is also still lurking around, meaning that Wingard will likely only stay on the roster if he is viewed as an indelible member of their special teams group.
Coming to Duval County as an undrafted free agent from Wyoming, Wingard's incredibly unlikely career in the NFL could come to a close if the young guys prove they are ready for enhanced roles early on.