When the Jacksonville Jaguars cleaned house this last offseason, general manager James "Trade 'em while you got 'em" Gladstone was among the triad of new leadership. He brought youth, audacity, and a willingness to do the things that others just talk about.
Gladstone made his first bold move during the 2025 NFL Draft, trading up for Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter. Since then, he's shown he's not afraid to make the calls or let go of players remaining from the Trent Baalke era.
Gladstone probably isn't done cooking yet, as a recent restructuring of Greg Newsome II's contract shows that. With the trade deadline fast approaching, here are three players at risk of being dealt.
Jaguars left tackle Walker Little
No, one bad game isn't quite enough to put Jaguars left tackle Walker Little on the chopping block, even if Sports Illustrated's John Shipley thinks the offensive line is the team's biggest weakness.
"As a result of the poor performance," Shipley writes, "the Jaguars' offensive line has tumbled in Pro Football Focus' offensive line rankings. After a strong start to the season, the offensive line fell six spots in this week's rankings and is now at No. 15."
But, to be fair, he's right about all that went wrong against the Seahawks last week. Little allowed four sacks and six pressures, not the performance the Jags expect from him. He'll need to bounce back and show the team that he's still their starting tackle, especially with rookie Wyatt Milum waiting in the wings and Little's nearly $15 million cap hit next season.
Jaguars defensive tackle Maason Smith
The Jags were high on defensive tackle Maason Smith last year. He ended last season playing well, and the leadership at the time seemed to expect that development to continue into this year. With the changes at the top, however, Smith hasn't been used the way he likely expected. While he's played five of six games, he hasn't started once and has a measly four tackles.
To be fair, he's still on his rookie contract, so the cap ramifications of keeping him aren't exactly astronomical, just $2 million for 2026 and $2.5 million for 2027. Still, Gladstone has said repeatedly that he's looking "to win now," so I don't expect him to keep a player they don't believe in just because he's affordable. Don't be surprised if Smith finds himself in a different uniform soon.
Jaguars safety Andrew Wingard
Okay, I love Dewey as much as the next guy, and this is his last year of his contract, so it's not like dealing him saves them a ton of money. But, like we said, Gladstone and company are looking to win now, not just ride out the season, and he's already shown he doesn't plan to keep around Baalke resignings just because.
While Wingard hasn't played poorly this year, he's not played stellar ball, either. Pro Football Focus ranked him as the 110th of 141 safeties. Yes, I know PFF isn't gospel, but it's at least a good starting point. With the Jaguars having Eric Murray, Antonio Johnson, and my personal favorite, Rayuan Lane III, I wouldn't be shocked to see Wingard dealt to shore up other positions—see the offensive line—that haven't performed well as of late.
Final thoughts
Speculating is fun. It's what we fans do. While I'm not asking that any of these players be moved—Gladstone doesn't return my calls anyway—I wouldn't be shocked to see it happen. The new leadership team has shown a desire to improve now, not later, and moving pieces around before the trade deadline seems likely.