There’s a lot going on these days with Brian Thomas Jr.
The problem for the Jacksonville Jaguars is that not enough of that is simply his production on the field. It’s everything else.
Thomas was benched in the second half of Week 6, not playing a single snap against the Houston Texans in the Jags’ second loss of the season.
He’s also continued to be involved in trade rumors, which don’t seem likely to go away before the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday, Nov. 10.
The Jaguars play on Sunday, Nov. 1 against the Indianapolis Colts as they return from bye to compete in Week 8 of the 2026 NFL season.
After question marks with Jakobi Meyers, it appears Jacksonville’s whole wide receiver room will be healthy.
And so what does this all mean for Thomas? This is what we know.
Is Brian Thomas Jr. Playing Today?
The expectation is that Thomas will be back on the field for the Jaguars this week, at least to some extent.
“Every player has ups and downs, and it’s just week to week in the NFL,” coach Liam Coen said this week, via the Associated Press. “I fully anticipate he’s going to make plays for us this Sunday. It’s just every week different guys step up, different guys make plays, and you’ve got to be able to be consistent with their approach as a coach to say, ‘OK, you got to keep giving people opportunities.’ But also, when there’s a hot hand going, you got to go with the hot hand a little bit here and there, and that’s just the way the game flows.”
He remains behind Parker Washington and Jakobi Meyers on the depth chart, at least, with Travis Hunter and Josh Cameron both pushing for more time lately, too.
Thomas is saying the right things about where he stands after his Week 6 benching.
“I really just wanted to flush it, come back ready with a different mindset, come back ready to go,” Thomas said this week, via the AP. “It’s football at the end of the day. Got more things out there to do. I’m just trying to be a team player, just going out there, helping out, trying to do anything I can to help the team win, whether it’s blocking, just trying to do everything I can do to be the best team player I can.”
Week 8 is Thomas’ next chance to respond and prove he can make an impact.
“Everybody goes through adversity,” Thomas said. “You just got to keep fighting through it. That’s the only way I know how to get through it. Just keep fighting through it, and I mean, that’s what I’m going to continue to do. Keep fighting and keep coming in with a good mindset. Keep working hard each and every day of practice, going out there doing the little things, trying to be the best that I can be.”
Brian Thomas Jr. Trade Rumors
Thomas remains involved in pretty much every trade rumors article across the NFL world.
The Jaguars continue to insist they aren’t going to trade Thomas.
There are nine days for that to be determined once and for all.
In the meantime, it appears the Jags are playing Thomas, even if that puts him at risk of injury. It would actually probably help his trade value if he could put together one good performance before the deadline.
What We Know About Brian Thomas Jr. Playing Today After Benching, Trade Rumors