And just like that, the preseason is over.
Less than 72 hours after the
Jacksonville Jaguars’ 14-6 defeat to the
Miami Dolphins in their final warmup game,
the 53-man roster for the 2025 regular season is set. General Manager James Gladstone took to the podium on Wednesday to discuss a range of topics; here are some of the big takeaways:
‘Eye Opening’
James Gladstone said they had many deep conversations when it came to the 53 man roster. Says the players put in a ton of effort. He also said he learned some lessons that will help him moving forward.
@1010XL
pic.twitter.com/UkBpBBbC7g
— Rick Ballou (@Ballou1010xl)
August 27, 2025
Whilst Gladstone has ‘been in the room’ as part of the
Los Angeles Rams front office the past few years, this was the first season where he was the man in charge. And no part of the season is tougher for a general manager than roster cuts on deadline day, where a franchise can be telling close to forty players their services are no longer required. Asked about the challenges of whittling down the roster to 53, Gladstone was candid:
“I know that for the first time actually to be the person to have to walk through that with guys, it was certainly eye-opening in a way that I just didn’t have the experience to point back to. So certainly, some lessons that I will be able to apply moving forward to continue to level up in that space, that I look forward to doing when that time comes again. But very much appreciate anybody who stepped into this building and participated over the course of the last few weeks in training camp to give ourselves a really good position here moving into the regular season, where we feel like we’re becoming the best version of the 2025 Jaguars at the right time.”
Gladstone referred to the ‘weight’ of having to release a player who had ‘put in a ton of effort and energy into giving their best to this organization’ and how seriously he took that responsibility. Nevertheless, he’s excited about the group that remains, frequently mentioning their physicality and mental fortitude.
New-Look Jaguars
"It's a great group and nobody is pigeonholed to a singular spot."
GM James Gladstone on the offensive line's versatility
#DUUUVAL pic.twitter.com/5ohTRm6nMk
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars)
August 27, 2025
There’s been a lot of change in Jacksonville since the end of last season. Gladstone was asked if it was intentional that half the final roster wasn’t on the team last year:
“That’s a cool question. I think it wasn’t something you intentionally set out on saying, hey, we’re going to turnover this percentage or this number of the roster. It was an organic approach. I think, when you have high demands for players and expectations and standards, it can become easier to sift through who makes the most sense moving forward and who makes the most sense being here. Certainly excited about the group we got at the moment, but can’t say it was with any intent to get to a certain number or percentage of roster turnover.”
Gladstone has also valued versatility when recruiting this offseason. This is evident in the makeup of the offensive line, which the GM acknowledged – but he’s also keen to point out the positional fluidity of other groups on the team too:
“Just like I pointed to wide receiver, the defensive end group, as I just work through, hey, what does it look like at each of these position groups and how they’re constructed, the thing that jumps out across the offensive line is the versatility. Obviously, with the fact that you’ve got guys that can swing from left to right, guard to tackle, guard to center. It’s a great group, and nobody’s pigeonholed to a singular spot with that in mind. That obviously gives you the luxury on game day to feel like you’re not pigeonholed and that you’re not going to be tight. The fact that we ended up addressing that position group so heavily throughout the offseason gave us a lot of confidence, a lot of competition, and that obviously led to a lot of growth. We’re really jacked about the progression that we saw from a number of the guys returning, a number of the guys that we added. Then obviously we were able to make some moves and leverage that depth through some of the recent trades.”
Diverse Run Game
The Jaguars plan to keep 4 RBs and use a committee approach, per
@DanGrazianoESPN
Travis Etienne Jr. – screen game
Tank Bigsby – physical pounder/short-yardage
Bhayshul Tuten – home run threat
LeQuint Allen Jr. – third-down back
pic.twitter.com/BeY9vlQI4C
— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL)
August 4, 2025
Perhaps the biggest unknown on the Jaguars’ offense this year is the utilization of the running backs. With four on the final roster, most expect Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby to be sharing the brunt of the workload. But the performances of rookies Bhayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen have turned heads. Gladstone was keen to give his coach a wide portfolio to work with, as he had done in his previous stop:
“Pretty juiced up about the fact that we’ve got four running backs who we feel very confident in. Obviously, as you think about what Liam deployed in
Tampa Bay, it was a committee approach, and we look forward to bringing that to life here in Jacksonville and making sure that everybody gets the ops that they deserve in a way that contributes to a successful outcome for us. But each of those guys has a role right here and now, and that will continue to shape itself over the course of the season. Obviously, knowing we’re going to run the ball, the idea of attrition isn’t a stretch to think shows itself, and the fact that we have four guys that we feel confident in, trust in, is a really good thing. Excited about where it’s at, excited to see where it goes.”
Perhaps the Jaguars weren’t as confident in the depth at receiver, with rumors of the team looking to add another name to the group after league-wide cuts. Sure enough, we saw the trade with the
Detroit Lions for
Tim Patrick Wednesday morning, adding another weapon for Trevor Lawrence. Gladstone was delighted with the acquisition:
“Really excited about the addition of Tim Patrick. He is somebody that from afar, both Liam [Head Coach Liam Coen], myself, the coaching staff, the scouting staff, has really appreciated his game. We talk about the idea of being mentally and physically tough, like I just pointed to, and I used the phrase ‘intangibly rich’ a lot. I think anybody who does their homework on Tim Patrick understands that he’s never had an easy path. He’s always had to overcome obstacles. The only thing he communicated to us after this decision was made, he’s ready to earn every op [opportunity] that lies in front. When he’s got that hunger that he can provide obviously from a veteran presence to a room who definitely has, up until Dyami [Brown], a lot of youth, a lot of inexperience in comparison. The idea of building out a basketball team with not only the wide receiver room, but multiple position groups, that can be very helpful, right? Not the same, exact genre across the group. That can be something that, when you talk with Liam, being able to artfully design plays to tap into those skill sets is something that he gets creative juices from. So that was something that was really exciting about the addition of Tim, knowing that he brings something that we don’t currently have in that space.”
Ready for Week 1
"It's time to win some football games."
#DUUUVAL pic.twitter.com/1fUYEhyGMa
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars)
August 27, 2025
Gladstone fielded a range of other questions, from Caleb Ransaw landing on IR to the usage of Travis Hunter and how his two-way ability adjusted his roster-building mindset. But ultimately, all of the offseason has built up to the next few months, beginning with a Week 1 home game against the
Carolina Panthers in ten days time. When asked about his feelings of building a Jaguars’ team in his own image, Gladstone was thinking about one thing only:
“That’s certainly a neat thing, but at the end of the day, I think from my vantage point, it’s time to win some football games. That’s really where my focus has fallen, and that’s where the fulfillment will actually come.”
