JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …

James from Jacksonville

So, you like the roster, I guess. All that matters is this: Are we going to be good or not?

This is as good a time as any for such a big-picture question, with the roster cutdown to 53 players in the rearview and with something of a "bye week" this weekend before next Sunday's 2025 regular-season opener against the Carolina Panthers at EverBank Stadium. First thought here: I do like what Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen, General Manager James Gladstone and Executive Vice President of Football Operations Tony Boselli have done to reshape this team. They have overturned essentially half the roster, reshaping a huge part of the offense and from this view giving them a chance to be an improved running offense with more big-play ability. I would be very surprised at this point if the Jaguars aren't significantly better – and far more consistent – offensively this season than they were last season. I'm a bit more uncertain about the defense, though I expect the defense to be very good on the edges and improved in the secondary. I think the Jaguars overall can be better in 2025 because of an improved running game and more big plays offensively, and I think they will be better creating turnovers. If they're improved in those areas, and if quarterback Trevor Lawrence adjusts and begins to flourish in Coen's offense … then, yes, I think the Jaguars can be good. That means they can be at or above .500 late in the season and push for the postseason if they stay relatively injury free. Here we go. It's almost here.

Chris from Fleming Island, FL

If the Jags liked Austin Trammell enough to make the 53, then cut him to sign Patrick, wouldn't they sign him to the practice squad? You say Patrick is a big, physical, receiver, you mean like Gabe Davis?

The Jaguars waived wide receiver Austin Trammell Wednesday after they traded with the Detroit Lions for wide receiver Tim Patrick. I wouldn't be surprised to see Trammell back with the Jaguars at some point, though that doesn't have to be on the practice squad immediately. The Jaguars this week signed rookie Chandler Brayboy and Dorian Singer to the practice squad after they spent training camp with the team. They also signed wide receiver Erik Ezukanma, a fourth-round selection by the Miami Dolphins in the 2022 NFL Draft, to the practice squad. Those moves indicate that retaining Trammell isn't a priority. You're correct that I said Patrick is a big, physical receiver. This is because he's a big, physical receiver. I didn't mean that to say he's "similar" to former Jaguars wide receiver Gabe Davis and I don't particularly know what one has to do with the other.

Kenneth from Jacksonville

So, we've cut the roster and we still have a week until the regular season. What the hell are we supposed to do now?

Wait, one would guess.

Michael from Neptune Beach, FL

Who ya got in the open?

I'll assume you're referencing the U.S. Open tennis tournament, which began Sunday and which will start getting into the good stuff in the next few days – and I'll crack the door for tennis, if just a bit, because we're in something of a deadish weekend with no Jaguars games for nine(ish) days. It's a bit naïve these days to project anyone winning the men's draw in a major outside Jannik Sinner of Italy and Carlos Alcaraz of Spain. They've elevated above all other men's players in the past two years to a startling degree. My sense is Sinner has moved past Alcaraz because of his unreal consistency, precise and powerful ground strokes and rapidly improving serve – and it's hard to imagine Sinner losing to anyone on hard courts the way he is currently playing. Men's pick: Sinner. The women's side is far more wide open, with Mrs. Ozone and I becoming big fans of Mirra Andreeva of Russia – though I'm not sure she's ready to win a major yet. I have to go with Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus or Iga Swiatek of Poland. I'll lean Swiatek because – as she showed at Wimbledon in July – when she's on she's really tough to bear. Women's pick: Swiatek.

Gabe from Washington, DC

I like what Gladstone is doing and understand the added value by bringing in guys that demonstrate hard work and leadership, but you have eventually bring in some dudes that top out at intangibly middle class, right?

I understand your point – and it's indeed a long-held belief in many NFL circles that at some point it's difficult to put together a 53-player, championship roster of all Good Guys and Upstanding Character Individuals. But when you talk to this Jaguars leadership team, the key point when discussing the idea of building a roster of "intangibly rich" players isn't as much about whether they are all choir-boyish leaders of men. It's more about whether they are good football players who care about winning and performing at a high level above all else. Enough teams talk about wanting players who are "all about ball" that it has become a cliché. But that's the emphasis around here, and you can enhance your chances of winning if you stay true to that cliché.

Peter from Jacksonville Beach, FL

Do you think the Jaguars can have four running backs active on game day?

Yes.

Steven from Jacksonville

Is it football season yet?

No. Not yet. In a few days-ish.

Bradley from Kansas City, MO

If Brian Thomas had 13 drops in college, they must have occurred in his first two years because I watched every target his last year and only saw one and that one was barely catchable. He actually had one of the best catch-to-target ratio of the top 20 receivers drafted, which is amazing considering LSU. had him primarily going deep while Malik Nabors took all the short and intermediate routes. I find it hard to criticize the job BTJ is doing this far in his career.

Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr.'s "drops" seems likely to be a topic until he shows they shouldn't be a topic. And he indeed had a few more drops during 2025 Training Camp than is ideal. My concern here is that the topic seems to be enough on the twittersphere/Jagosphere that every time he touches a pass that ends up incomplete we're going to get a chorus of people chortling, "Seeeeeeeeeee!!! It's a PROBLEM!!!!!" Remember: This is a fast-paced, physical game. Receivers drop passes, just like offensive linemen miss blocks and quarterbacks throw incomplete. Thomas will drop the occasional pass this season and throughout his career – just as he did at times as a rookie. But in watching Thomas as a rookie, his productivity far outweighed any drops and I don't expect the "issue" to define his career. He's a really good player who seems to have a chance to be the best receiver this franchise has had in two decades. Is it hard to criticize that at this point in his career? It sure seems it ought to be.

Matthew from Funkytown

No Question, Mighty O. Just got back from the great state of Alaska and had a few tidbits. Saw a Trevor Lawrence jersey displayed on the windshield of a Tour Bus, had a guy from Texas shout Duval to me after finding out we were from Jacksonville and had a hotel guy in Vancouver ask me how Travis Hunter is looking. Also got to see an Orca in the wild. If Zoners get a chance to see that place, they should make the trip.

So I've heard.

Rob from The duuuuuuuuu

Hey John, Can you shed some light on the Ransaw injury? I didn't realize he was hurt and now he is out for the season. I guess all we know is lower leg injury, but there was never much talk about him being out for the regular season. Can you tell us what the injury is? Is this more of a roster manipulation decision? It seems wrong for the player if he could potentially play this season. Was looking forward to seeing him play, bummer.

Jaguars rookie Caleb Ransaw sustained a foot injury in training camp. He wore a protective boot with the hope that the injury wouldn't require surgery and that he would be able to play this season. But the injury did require surgery. The Jaguars placing him on season-ending injured reserve was not a roster-manipulation decision. He wouldn't have been able to play until too late in the season and the Jaguars didn't want to rush him back. The Jaguars also were looking forward to seeing Ransaw play and consider it a bummer that it won't be this season. They're excited about his future and think he's a starting-caliber safety.

Gary from St. Augustine, FL

Even with the roster at 53 players, you still suck.

Yep.