The Jacksonville Jaguars still have not made the one single announcement the entire rumor mill has been waiting for weeks. A Brian Thomas Jr. trade.
Agreed, they just started hearing the offers on Thomas Jr. a couple of days ago, but the latest report from Jeremy Fowler suggests none of them compelled GM James Gladstone enough to get him to say yes.
ESPN Insider Reveals Jaguars Trade Plans for Brian Thomas Jr.
Just hours before the trade deadline shuts, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote that the Jaguars plan to keep Brian Thomas Jr. through the trade deadline.
“The Jaguars plan to keep WR Brian Thomas Jr. through the trade deadline, per sources. They have relayed that to interested teams. Coming off multiple big trades Monday, Jacksonville plans to keep its roster intact, barring a surprise,” Fowler wrote.
Perhaps teams weren’t ready to cough up the draft capital Galdstone expected for Thomas Jr., or he simply continued believing in his role within the building. Either way, there’s only a very slim chance the Jaguars make a very last-minute announcement with the clock counting down the final trade window hours now.
If the Jaguars do end up keeping Thomas Jr. on their roster, Liam Coen would practically be backed into a corner to keep working on him and finding out ways to actually get Thomas Jr.’s production up.
Thomas Jr.’s production has basically dropped off a cliff over the Jaguars’ last four games. Their Week 8 game was the first time Thomas Jr. actually scored in the last 4 weeks. His touchdown vs. the Colts on Thursday was what possibly made Gladstone reconsider the noise.
However, he didn’t score a single target, again, in the Jaguars Week 9 matchup vs. the Ravens, making things tougher than they already are for Gladstone.
Jaguars Have Quite a Few Reasons to Not Trade Thomas Jr.
Across his last four appearances, Thomas has managed just 1 catch on 4 targets for 12 receiving yards total. That single touchdown, in no way, takes him off the hot seat.
Still, SI’s Albert Breer thinks the Jags might not trade Thomas Jr. before the deadline.
“I don’t think the moves Monday affect their approach with wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., and I figured they might at first, given Thomas would be a piece they could move to recoup some of the capital lost in the three trades,” Breer writes.
“While the third-year pro isn’t a great fit for Coen’s offense, which values the grit, toughness and after-catch production of Washington and Meyers, he does serve a unique purpose—his ability to threaten the defense downfield is unlike what the other two receivers bring, and opens things up underneath for those guys and in the run game,” he continues.
“So in a year in which the Jaguars feel like they can compete at the highest level, the purpose Thomas serves now is more valuable than what might get back selling low on him, particularly when they can trade him after the season, when rookie Josh Cameron might be ready to replace him.”
With $7.48 million of his rookie contract, which runs through 2027, already paid up front in his signing bonus, the Jaguars expect high-end WR1 numbers, not single-digit target games. He has time left on his deal, but continuing to put up zeros will force the front office to re-evaluate his place in their long-term plans.
Gladstone has already given Thomas Jr. enough chances, but if he doesn’t trade Thomas before the deadline and his production slump continues, then the Jaguars will have no excuses for holding onto him.
Jaguars Make Final Decision on Brian Thomas Jr. Trade: Report