When the Jaguars declined linebacker Devin Lloyd’s fifth-year option, it felt like another quiet signal that the 2022 first-round pick was becoming a relic of a previous regime.
A new front office -- headlined by a no-nonsense general manager in James Gladstone -- had swept into town and begun reshaping the roster to fit a fresh vision, and Lloyd, talented but inconsistent across three seasons, seemed firmly in the gray zone: not a bust, but certainly not a sure thing to anchor the franchise’s second level long-term.
Yet through the opening months of 2025, the conversation around Lloyd has shifted, and it’s largely because of how new defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile has chosen to deploy him.
In layman's terms, his scheme is aggressive, mobile, and built on conflict. It demands defenders who can do more than one job, allowing pressure packages and post-snap rotations to disguise intent.
Devin Lloyd has become the playmaker the Jaguars envisioned in the 2022 NFL Draft
Devin Lloyd, for the first time since arriving in Jacksonville, looks like a player whose full athletic profile is being featured, rather than forced. The Jaguars have aligned him as an off-ball backer, walked him up as an edge presence, and even used him as a disruptor from the nickel spot (30 snaps through Week 12). The result: 14 pressures thus far, including four quarterback hits and 10 hurries — no sacks, but he's consistently impacting plays.
Looking back to his days at Utah years ago, Lloyd has always been at his best when attacking downhill, using his closing speed and natural feel for movement to force quarterbacks into sped-up decisions. Earlier in his career, when asked to play more reactively in coverage and as a traditional 'backer, he often looked tentative. Now, freed to trigger, he’s been one of the most active and valuable defenders in Campanile's front.
The question, then, is simple: Should Jacksonville re-sign Devin Lloyd? Based on 2025 alone, the answer leans decisively toward yes.
But the financial details will dictate everything.
The case for and against the Jaguars paying Devin Lloyd
Lloyd isn't expected to sniff the top of the market, where Fred Warner’s $21 million per year reset the ceiling. But the middle tier is robust and informative. Patrick Queen in Pittsburgh, Jamien Sherwood with the Jets, Nick Bolton in Kansas City, and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah in Cleveland all live in the $12–15 million range.
That’s likely the neighborhood Lloyd will inhabit if he hits the open market -- versatile linebackers who play three downs, impact pressure packages, and fit modern defensive structures.
The other side of the coin, however, is whether Gladstone and the Jaguars believe the number fits within their broader roster construction. Lloyd may not be a foundational superstar, but he is a dynamic, scheme-specific chess piece in Campanile's hands. Letting him walk would mean replacing not only a starter, but a uniquely flexible one within a complex system. And given how long the franchise has searched for stability at the position, moving on would create another self-inflicted hole.
Ultimately, Lloyd’s emergence in his fourth campaign is exactly what Jacksonville had hoped for when they drafted him out of Utah. He’s become a tone-setting, multi-positional force whose production finally matches his traits.
If Lloyd and his camp land in the $13–15 million range, or lower, the Jaguars should prioritize keeping him. But if he wants more, well, Lloyd could don new threads come 2026.
The bottom line remains, however, in that he’s an answer that fits the new defense’s identity, and in a league built on adaptability, that may be worth more than ever.