Gladstone since his February hiring has talked often of a new Jaguars "ecosystem," saying on Thursday of the '25 free agent class: "What we were seeking during pro-free agency was to raise the floor of this football team, and every player that we pursued and that we've now acquired is meeting that standard."
"By being nothing more than who they are and who we know them to be, both on and off the field, they're going to do exactly what we would hope they'd do and that's level up this ecosystem," he said.
Cornerback Jourdan Lewis, who spent his first eight NFL seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, said he and Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen on Thursday discussed a chance to be part of the foundation of that system.
"When he talked about changing the culture and me being at the forefront of that, that makes me very excited," Lewis said of Coen. "I'm just excited to be a part of something like that and excited to be around like-minded people that want to go out there and compete and change the culture and change the way people see the Jaguars nationwide."
Added Lewis, "We're talking about just building a culture. I want to be a cornerstone to a rebuild. I've always wanted to be a guy to be known for that, be known for a culture, and be known to change culture. I love a good competition, and I love a good challenge, so I feel like this is a perfect place for me to go out there and show that I belong in this NFL and to be known as one of the guys that changed the culture."