JACKSONVILLE – The work is not done.

James Gladstone made that clear Thursday discussing free agency and the 2026 NFL League Year, with the Jaguars' general manager emphasizing a big-picture – and forward-focused – view while discussing multiple roster-related topics.

This is an ongoing process, which Gladstone said is very much the Jaguars' approach.

"It's exciting from my vantage point to know the start of the league year began roughly 24 hours ago," he said during a Thursday afternoon media availability. "It's nothing more than the start."

Gladstone, speaking a day after Wednesday's start of the '26 League Year, discussed multiple topics Thursday – including the departure of multiple starters via free agency. He also discussed the difference in approach this offseason compared to last offseason.

"Quite a bit different than a year ago today," said Gladstone, now in his second season as the Jaguars' general manager.

The Jaguars through the early part of free agency have signed acquired one veteran from another team – Washington Commanders running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. – while 2025 Jaguars players such as running back Travis Etienne Jr. (New Orleans Saints), linebacker Devin Lloyd (Carolina Panthers), safety Andrew Wingard (Arizona Cardinals) and cornerback Greg Newsome II (New York Giants) signed elsewhere as unrestricted free agents.

The Jaguars last offseason were aggressive early in free agency, signing veterans who contributed significantly in 2025 such as cornerback Jourdan Lewis, safety Eric Murray, center Robert Hainsey and guard Patrick Mekari.

"We came out of the gates what you might call hot," Gladstone said. "The whole approach to that cycle was to raise the floor of the football team, and that was a part of it. We're at a stage now where a higher volume of draft capital is what we're hunting up."

The 2026 free agency period toward that end could produce compensatory selections for the Jaguars in the 2027 NFL Draft. The league awards compensatory selections based on free agent gains and losses from the previous offseason, with all four major departures – Etienne, Lloyd, Wingard and Newsome – figuring in the Jaguars' favor in the comp formula.

"We're excited for all those guys," Gladstone said. "In return, by not signing any outside free agents, we recouped 2027 draft capital. On its surface you would think, 'Ok, you're going to make picks in 2027.' In reality, those draft picks, and having more of them, actually allows you the luxury of remaining in the hunt at different intervals throughout the entire calendar year for acquiring players."

The Jaguars last season not only acquired wide receiver Tim Patrick from the Detroit Lions in a training camp trade, they acquired wide receiver Jakobi Meyers from the Las Vegas Raiders in a midseason trade.

"Without that draft capital at your disposal, you may not be as willing or able to relinquish some of those future picks," Gladstone said. "By building that up now, it allows us the luxury of remaining sort of flexible to do those sorts of things as we move into the next stages of the offseason and into the regular season."

Gladstone on Thursday also discussed:

*Rodriguez, who joined the Jaguars as a restricted free agent after rushing for 920 yards and 10 touchdowns the past three seasons, including 500 yards and six touchdowns in 2025. "If you watch the tape, you understand very quickly exactly who he is as a football player, the superpowers that he taps into consistently," Gladstone said of Rodriguez, who played for Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen when Coen was the offensive coordinator at Kentucky in 2021. " He's very physical at the point of attack. He has a really good pace in his approach to the line of scrimmage and finding the lanes. He obviously has an intimate understanding of the system and how Liam likes to call things. There's a lot of strong matches just generally from how those two in tandem can really work together." …

*Reports that the Jaguars were interested in recent weeks in trading for Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby, who remains with that organization after a failed physical negated an agreed-upon trade with the Baltimore Ravens. "We're always communicating with other clubs on the landscape of their thoughts," Gladstone said. "I can tell you in particular we never got down to a real dialogue exploring that." …

*Reports that teams have been interested in trading for wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., a 2024 Pro Bowl selection as a rookie. "There hasn't been a ton of dialogue around that, adding of "reports" about a possible trade, "I don't think there's been any reputable statement." Thomas caught 48 passes for 707 yards and two touchdowns last season for a Jaguars offense that scored at least 23 points in 10 consecutive games to end the regular season. "Think back to where we landed at the end of the season, where our passing attack was … we have no interest in disrupting the momentum," Gladstone said. "We look forward to continuing to build off of where we left things and know that Brian Thomas is a big piece to that puzzle. We want to make sure that doesn't get disrupted at any time." …