Jacksonville Jaguars
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The Jaguars re-signed Matt Dickerson
The Jacksonville Jaguars have plenty of tough decisions to make as we get closer to the new NFL league year. The NFL league year begins March 11, when Jacksonville is set to have 12 free agents.
Right now, the Jaguars stated on their official team website that this current period means, “decisions on pending unrestricted free agents – and on whether to use the NFL’s franchise/transition tag. That’s all ahead of the opening of the 2026 NFL League Year in a month – and the 2026 NFL Draft in late April.”
After winning 13 games in the regular season, the Jaguars possess the third-fewest cap space in the NFL,according to OverTheCap. Without a first-round draft pick in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft, the Jaguars must get creative in order to improve their roster and make the necessary jump from regular season success to postseason success.
Jacksonville Jaguars Re-Sign Defensive Lineman
The Jaguars have officially begun making moves. They already announced that they hadre-signed running back Deejay Dallas prior to free agency. Additionally, the team alsoannounced they had re-signed Matt Dickerson, after he made eight appearances for the Jaguars in the 2025 season.
Prior to joining the Jaguars last season, Dickerson had never started an NFL game in his six-year career. Dickerson has played for the Titans, Falcons, Chiefs, and Dolphins, and he won a Super Bowl with Kansas City in the 2023 season. However, individually his best season occurred with Jacksonville in 2025.
He played over 40% of the team’s defensive snaps in the final five games of the regular season. In the playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills, Dickerson played 21 defensive snaps.
Jaguars Upcoming Free Agency
Keeping Dickerson is a solid under-the-radar move for the Jaguars as bigger transactions are set to occur in March. As of February 17, the Jaguars are in the period where they can decide whether and on whom they will use the franchise or transition tag. As stated on the Jaguars’ website, “Teams can place a franchise or transition tag on one player per offseason, after which the player may play the season on a one-year contract for the value of the tag or negotiate a long-term extension with the team.”
The top two candidates for the tag are linebacker Devin Lloyd, who earned second-team All-Pro honors during the season, or running back Travis Etienne, who set a career-high with 13 touchdowns in the 2025 season. While the franchise tag ensures the player stays with the team for at least one more season, it also gives them a fully guaranteed contract that counts against the cap in 2026, which might be difficult for the team to absorb given their current cap situation.
A long-term extension may be the preferred choice, as they could structure the contract in a way that benefits the team’s current cap space. Regarding using the tag on Etienne,ESPN writer Michael DiRocco said, “Using the tag seems unlikely, especially since the Jaguars drafted Bhayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen Jr. in 2025 with an eye toward replacing Etienne in 2026. Both made modest contributions as rookies: Tuten ran for 307 yards and averaged 3.7 yards per carry and Allen was used mainly as a pass protector and third-down back.”