The Jacksonville Jaguars have several players who are entering contract season in 2025, but locking them up may not be a top priority right now. In fact, most of the candidates for an extension will need to prove themselves before they get paid. That said, there's a player with two years left on his current deal that the Jags need to consider locking up before salaries at the position increase in the upcoming months.
Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports drew up a list of every team's most obvious candidate for an extension and picked Walker for the Jaguars, pointing out that the first overall pick hasn't been nearly as dominant as fellow pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson but has still been productive.
Walker hasn't exactly lived up to his No. 1 overall pick status (especially compared to Aidan Hutchinson, but he hasn't been bad, either," Sullivan said. "Walker has been durable, playing all 17 games in each of the last two seasons and has logged double-digit sacks in those campaigns."
Sullivan continued, "He's coming off a career-high 10-5 sack season in 2024, and if he continues to ascend, he could put pressure on the Jaguars brass to lock him up long term. Currently, Walker is under contract through the 2026 season after the team picked up his fifth-year option."
As Sullivan noted, Hutchinson, who went to the Detroit Lions one pick after Walker, has turned out to be the best player of the two. After an impressive rookie campaign, the former Michigan Wolverine was putting together a Defensive Player of the Year campaign before he broke his tibia and fibula.
But even after the devastating injury, the Lions may want to give Hutchinson an extension before salaries continue to go up. Already, Myles Garrett, Danielle Hunter, and Max Crosby got deals that pay them an average of $35 million or more. Micah Parsons is also a candidate for a new contract and could raise the bar even higher, so Detroit might want to get ahead of the curve.
Of course, Walker isn't in the same echelon as any of those players, but that doesn't mean salaries for pass rushers in lower tiers won't go up. Heck, the $1425 million deal Josh Hines-Allen signed last year made him the second-highest paid player at the position at the time, but it now pales in comparison to Crosby's or Garrett's.
Why the Jaguars will pay Travon Walker (but maybe not until 2026)
Travon Walker certainly has the talent and the production to go with it, and the Jacksonville Jaguars liked him enough that they picked up the fifth-year option on his rookie deal. That said, they may not want to give him a new deal after he takes the next step.
Sure, posting a combined 20 sacks the past two seasons is encouraging, but the team's brass surely wants to see him play at a high level before top-market money. That could mean that they won't give the Thomaston, Georgia native a new deal until 2026.
Maybe if Walker gets off to a strong start next season, he will get a new deal, but he still has two years remaining on his rookie deal, so the Jags could afford to wait. Sure, if he breaks out, they run the risk of having to pay him more, but they probably won't mind if that's how things unfold.
Another thing that could help Walker get a new deal to stay in Jacksonville is that the Jaguars have already locked up most of their most prominent players, so they don't have many other candidates for extensions aside from him.
The bottom line is that Travon Walker hasn't been nearly as dominant as Aidan Hutchinson, but has nevertheless been a solid player. On the other hand, he'll need to take his game to the next level if he wants to get a top-market contract.
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