Jaguars Trade Rumors
Jaguars Not Expected to Move Brian Thomas Jr. Despite Disappointing Sophomore Season
The Jacksonville Jaguars are not shopping wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., according to Jaguars.com reporter Demetrius Harvey, despite a 2025 season that left many fantasy managers and analysts questioning whether his elite rookie performance was sustainable.
Thomas, 23, was the 23rd overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of LSU and immediately lived up to his draft pedigree. In his rookie campaign, he hauled in 87 passes for 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns across 17 games, setting franchise rookie records in all three categories and earning a Pro Bowl selection. Those numbers made him one of the most coveted young receivers in dynasty fantasy leagues heading into Year 2.
The 2025 season told a different story. Thomas started all 14 games he appeared in, but finished with only 48 receptions for 707 yards and two touchdowns on 91 targets, a significant step backward in volume and production from his debut campaign. He battled wrist, shoulder, and ankle injuries throughout the year, and his drop rate became a genuine concern, with eight drops recorded on the season.
His diminished output coincided with two major developments on the depth chart. Parker Washington, a 2023 sixth-round pick from Penn State who entered the season as a complementary option, emerged as one of Jacksonville’s most reliable pass-catchers. Washington finished the regular season with 58 receptions for 847 yards and five touchdowns, earning the 14th-highest PFF receiving grade among all wide receivers in the NFL. Then, just before the trade deadline on November 4, the Jaguars acquired Jakobi Meyers from the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for fourth- and sixth-round picks. Meyers immediately steadied a banged-up Jacksonville receiving corps and went on to earn a three-year, $60 million contract extension with the team.
With Washington and Meyers now locked in as key contributors, and Travis Hunter returning from a knee injury that ended his 2025 season early, the Jaguars’ target landscape heading into 2026 is more crowded than it has ever been during Thomas’ short career.
Still, the organization’s message has been consistent: Thomas is not available. His rookie-year talent is considered real, the injuries that disrupted 2025 are documented, and his third season represents the clearest opportunity yet to confirm whether that breakout was a foundation or a fluke. For fantasy managers willing to absorb the risk, the buy-low window may not stay open long.
The A.J. Brown Connection
The question of whether Brian Thomas Jr. has a future in Jacksonville is not just a depth-chart conversation. It has quietly become tangled up in one of the bigger trade storylines in the NFL right now.
NFL insider Jason La Canfora reported that at least one personnel executive around the league identified the Jacksonville Jaguars as a potential fit for Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown. The logic, per the reporting, centers specifically on Jacksonville’s receiver situation. Brian Thomas Jr. regressed significantly in his second NFL season, while 2025 top draft pick Travis Hunter is now expected to spend the bulk of his professional career at cornerback rather than receiver, a combination that leaves a meaningful void on Jacksonville’s offense that a proven veteran like Brown could address.
James Palmer of Bleacher Report stated that he doesn’t rule out a trade, noting that Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has quietly been working the phones beyond the Patriots. Critically, prior to the 2026 NFL Draft, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reported that the Jaguars were considering using Thomas Jr. as an asset to facilitate a trade, potentially with Brian Thomas Jr. himself included in the package going to Philadelphia.
Still, the rumor hasn’t died.
One anonymous general manager told La Canfora, “I still think it’s done before camp.” Beat writers who cover the team have pushed back, noting that Jacksonville already has four credible options in Parker Washington, Travis Hunter, Thomas, and Jakobi Meyers, and that the team is engaged in contract talks with Washington to keep him beyond 2026.