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March 13, 2025 • 13 mins
Jaguars General Manager James Gladstone meets with the media after acquiring nine free agents on the first day of the 2025 League Year.

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Of these guys that you brought us that she liked, well,
I think it's pretty simple.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
What we were seeking to do in pro free agency was.

Speaker 1 (00:10):
To raise the floor of this football team, and every
player that we pursued and that we've now acquired is
meeting that standard.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
And by being nothing more than who they are and
who we know.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
Them to be both on and off the field, they're
gonna do exactly what we would hope they do, and
that's level up this ecosystem.

Speaker 2 (00:32):
Lewis, what is it about in the stands out to
use a footballer? You know?

Speaker 1 (00:36):
One of the most exciting elements to Jordan Lewis is
that every offensive coordinator that I've come in contact with
has always highlighted him as somebody that they have to
account for in their game planning, and when you turn
on the film, it's easy to see why. Now, one
of the things that we really wanted to do for
our defensive backfield is bring a veteran presence with a

(00:57):
level of doggedness and roughness that was gonna level up
our current style of play. And Jordan's somebody who we
believe highly in to bring that and offer that skill
set to our football team.

Speaker 3 (01:11):
With Jordan. You have Jari and Ari on the team,
and Jordan just said that they trained together, and just
does that mean Jardian might be looking at an outside
or what's the kind of thought process.

Speaker 1 (01:23):
One of the things that we're valuing is versatility, and
with both of those guys, we feel like they have
the flexibility to play both inside and out. I think
we'll see how that takes shape over the course of
this offseason and in the beginning of next season. But
between the two of them, both of them are players
that we find value in and just the versatility between
the two of them just allows us a little bit
more flexibility find goy like.

Speaker 4 (01:45):
Patrick has that fersatility across all five positions.

Speaker 2 (01:49):
That was insanely rare.

Speaker 1 (01:50):
I don't know that that's something that typically comes up
on the market at cost point that's affordable enough to pursue. Really,
we were very disciplined and in our approach and how
we spent this offseason. And Patrick is somebody that you know,
he didn't he wasn't offered the opportunity or the backdrop

(02:11):
of being a draft pick coming out. He's earned everything
he's gotten, and he earned this opportunity and his versatility. Obviously,
you know there's always attrition on the offensive line throughout
the course of a season, and obviously he'll allow us
a lot of flexibility on the offensive side of the
ball to feel like we're never in a bind because
we can move him around if necessary.

Speaker 2 (02:32):
But at the same time, he's going to be.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
Slotted in as a starter on the interior of rol
at this point he's building.

Speaker 3 (02:36):
Through the draft.

Speaker 5 (02:38):
Is that velosity or is an edict from the owner
or both.

Speaker 1 (02:41):
Or you know, that's my experience most recently with the
Los Angeles Rams, and it's something that I feel like
I have a unique capacity to take on with the
current position that we hold, which is ten picks this year,
eleven picks next year.

Speaker 2 (02:55):
And so with pro free agency, we wanted to.

Speaker 1 (02:58):
Set ourselves up so we felt like we we had
the flexibility to address any position that we wanted to
at any pickpoint that lies on the horizon, and feel
like we're currently in a position to do just that.

Speaker 5 (03:10):
And then you guys said everything's about making Trevor, putting
all pieces around Trevor, Well, then you trade and release
two of his top pass catchers post it, thinking.

Speaker 3 (03:20):
There and an Ingram Christian Curve.

Speaker 1 (03:22):
Yeah, really have so much respect for the people and
the players that both Christian and Evan are right, and
they meant a lot to the locker room, and you know,
we'll continue to bring those types of people and players
into our ecosystem.

Speaker 2 (03:36):
But we needed a little bit more flexibility to.

Speaker 1 (03:38):
Address the larger scale roster after you know, some departures
across the OL as well, So that was a big
part in that. But we do feel like we're in
a better position today than we were a couple of
weeks ago to make it so that when we enter, uh,
you know, each decision at each pickpoint in April, that
we can continue to level up, you know, where we

(04:00):
are from a personnel perspective.

Speaker 5 (04:02):
Brown, what does he do for that?

Speaker 3 (04:05):
What does he do for stretching the field?

Speaker 1 (04:07):
Yeah, I think it's easy to look at Diami's career
path in trajectory and know that he's ascending right. The
way that he closed out last season was nothing short
of impressive, and we look for him to carry that
into Really his one year contract with us. He took
a bet on himself that a year from now, given
the opportunity that he sees here with the Jacksonville Jaguars

(04:29):
that he's going to take another step and earn an
even larger contract. And you know what he provides just
on a vertical plane and in run after catch scenarios
is something that is extremely exciting, extremely alluring for our
offensive staff. And I think that he'll be able to
take another step to expand his game and we'll see
him come to life in the same ways that he

(04:51):
did towards the end of the season with Washington this
last season right off the bat well, also expanding his
role to fit what we're intending on doing this coming season.

Speaker 2 (05:01):
After long you're with him in Los Angeles.

Speaker 1 (05:03):
See another guy who's still kind of scratching the surface
of what he can't be a.

Speaker 2 (05:07):
More opportunity to do. Yeah, I think.

Speaker 1 (05:09):
So. You know, Hunter is somebody who also has you know,
dealt with adversity throughout his time dating back to Boston College.
You know, his early onboarding in Miami, gets traded to
Los Angeles and he suffers an injury there and it
wasn't until last season that he was really able to
you know, be a participant from start to finish of

(05:31):
a regular season and really showed what his skill set
can be in the NFL, and it's something that we value,
and that's an inline presence that also isn't below the
line as a pass catcher and can certainly take another
step in that phase of the game. But his familiarity
as well as Johnny Muntz with the system is something
that we value and you know, allow that group as

(05:53):
a whole to continue to be interchangeable and not feel
like wherever hamstrung in anyone fit of the game. Offensively,
you mentioned the great strange expectations for him after all
the boves, etcetera. Yeah, I think any fan that's following
closely would label Brenton as somebody who's ascending and ready

(06:15):
to take another step given the opportunity to do so.
He is someone who embodies exactly what we're hunting up.
So we're glad to have him already on roster. His strain,
his finish on blocks is something that we're really excited about.
When he's got the ball in his hands, he's not
interested in going down when the first defender approaches James.

Speaker 4 (06:35):
With the addition of Eric, how would you evaluate the
safety room as right now?

Speaker 1 (06:39):
Yeah, I think the defensive backfield as a whole has
gotten better with the addition of Jordan and Eric, and
you know, one of the things between the two of
them is that their experience, their stability, it offers exactly
what's needed on that back end. When you look at
safety in particular, the root word there is safe and

(07:00):
that's exactly what Eric provides.

Speaker 2 (07:01):
And so we're excited to bring.

Speaker 1 (07:03):
Him into the ecosystem, and I know he's excited to
take on a more notable leadership role.

Speaker 2 (07:08):
Than what he's had in previous years.

Speaker 3 (07:11):
You talk a lot about setting the dish for Trevor
at the combine, and.

Speaker 5 (07:15):
So now with the free agency you Gus brought in,
how do you feel like you've done with the center?

Speaker 2 (07:18):
And then obviously in.

Speaker 1 (07:19):
Regard to yeah, I do think that we answered some
questions there with our decisions here in pro free agency,
addressing both center and guard as well as the tackle position,
and clearly by signing three of those players and that
being the most at any one position over the course
of the free agent window, we're setting, you know, the

(07:40):
standard for what we're actually looking to do. And that
doesn't count offensive line out of the equation in the
draft either. But at the same time, you know that's
another position that does have attrition and throughout the course
of a season, so we'll never feel like we've got
enough go ahead of.

Speaker 3 (07:58):
Going back to the diamond round thing. And how do
you view him in terms of of where he is
on the roster, And I know it's early, but just
in terms of how much of an impact do you
expect him.

Speaker 4 (08:10):
To make ten million over one year?

Speaker 2 (08:12):
Seems like a significant one. Yeah, I think you know,
the market dictates a lot of the.

Speaker 1 (08:17):
Price points, and and when you got a receiver who
gets a contract elsewhere, everybody's going to start working off
of that. So it's not like you're necessarily in control
of what that looks like on a on an annual
basis necessarily. I will say that we do expect him
to have a strong output and one that, given the

(08:38):
opportunity that currently lies in front of him, is very vivid,
and that he'll be getting plugged a bit more than
he was probably used to in years prior. Still interested
and to that receiver room, maybe a guy like a.

Speaker 2 (08:51):
I got a ton of respect for Cooper.

Speaker 1 (08:53):
He was actually in the first draft that I ever
had the chance to be a part of, and throughout
the course of his career in Los Angeles, he is
one of the purest to form wide receivers change the
dynamic for what's actually asked to those guys in modern football.

(09:14):
And you know, I think at this point in time,
it's fair to say in pro free agency, we're always
open to every opportunity that presents itself.

Speaker 2 (09:24):
But time will truly tell.

Speaker 4 (09:26):
In terms of last time we spoke to you with
the combine, I guess it's been what two and a
half three weeks. Describe what it's been like for you,
assimilating into the staff, kind of what went into the
throw creagency process and working with the staff that was
already built here for you.

Speaker 1 (09:40):
Yeah, it's been an absolute blast. I think the collaboration
over the course of the last three weeks has been
something we've held at a premium, and you know, looking
at our pro scouting staff and our football administration staff,
blending with our coaching staff over that window of time,
it you know, it's something that I feel a level
of pride and being able to sort of engage with

(10:01):
all of those groups in such a short window of
time and actually walking into the pro free agency window,
you know, with some unknowns, right there were some holes
on our roster, and unlike the draft, right an NFL
pro free agent has the chance to say, you know what,
I appreciate the offer, but I'm going somewhere else. Right
in the draft, you send a name into a system

(10:24):
and they're now a part of your team. So that
was a dynamic that walking into that door on Monday,
you feel like, you know what we're gonna have to
adjust today. Well, lo and behold, we had nine names
that we were prioritizing, and we ended up with nine
players that ended up on our roster as of today.
So seeing that plan come to life being executed in

(10:46):
the way that it was certainly something that at this
point in time I'm proud of. But I can't wait
for these players to engage with the rest of the
team get out on the grass in the fall, because
it's not the off season that we're looking to win
from a person standpoint. We're looking to win football games
this fall and can't wait for the next phase of
this in the draft to truly see what the shape

(11:07):
of the roster is going to look like and then
get everybody out on the grass together here later in
the spring. Sorry, but.

Speaker 4 (11:15):
You said that all nine players that you guys went
after you got them.

Speaker 5 (11:20):
So just what exactly is it about this group, specifically
the individual players, but just the group as a whole
that stands out with why you guys targeted this one.

Speaker 1 (11:29):
Yeah, I think you've heard me say the phrase intangibly
rich quite a few times, right, And that was no
different in our approach to pro free agency.

Speaker 2 (11:37):
It was no different to who it was that we
were prioritizing.

Speaker 1 (11:41):
And we sat down with each of those players individually
here today and you know that sentiment and what we
knew them to be. Rather it was what was speaking
to us on the film or in our sourced information
behind the scenes. These guys are built right, and by
being nothing more than who they are, we can feel
that they're gonna level us up.

Speaker 3 (12:00):
Knowing how much communication there is at the center position,
how important was it bringing in a guy like Robert
who already knows Liam knows the scheme.

Speaker 2 (12:07):
It was a massive priority. Right.

Speaker 1 (12:09):
That's some weight off the shoulders of Trevor at the
line of scrimmage that now, because of the familiarity from Robert,
he doesn't have to bear.

Speaker 2 (12:17):
As a quarterback.

Speaker 1 (12:18):
And you know, at the same time, Robert got one
opt to start this past season versus the New Orleans Saints,
and I'd encourage anybody in everybody to watch that game
and understand why it was a player of interest. Think
about the intangible elements in the back of your mind
as it relates to a performance on the field, and
you'll see that clear as day in that game.

Speaker 2 (12:38):
Robert was not going to allow that opportunity.

Speaker 1 (12:41):
He didn't know how many he was going to get
last season to make it so that by the time
that pro free agency kicked off, that bell rang on Monday,
that he was going to be given and up because
somebody saw exactly what we did in him, and that's
a player that does not quit the whistle blows and
he's playing through it and that's something that we really
really value.

Speaker 4 (13:00):
I'll just get one more if you could evaluate you
guys didn't address defensive line edge in terms of your
approach of what is already here and maybe what still
needs to be added to the roster of those possessions.

Speaker 2 (13:12):
Yeah, we got ten picks in this year's drafts.

Speaker 1 (13:15):
We're gonna have to have some spots that are actually
open for them to insert. So you know, if you
add a veteran at this point could be just standing
in the way. We're gonna allow these rookies to, you know,
get a chance to get out on the field and
help us this coming fall.

Speaker 2 (13:29):
Thanks James, Thanks, thank you all. It's great to see it.
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