Jacksonville Jaguars fans got the bad news on Anton Harrison on Friday morning. His torn ACL, found during Thursday’s knee surgery, ends his season, and it leaves the Jaguars with two healthy tackles on the active roster in Walker Little and Cole Van Lanen. Veteran Geron Christian Sr. is on the practice squad, and the Nov. 10 trade deadline is 18 days away. We already looked at whether they’d consider trading Brian Thomas Jr. for tackle help. The bigger obstacle might be the cap.
Jacksonville has $3,656,091 in 2026 cap space, which ranks 30th in the league, according to Spotrac.
Where the Jaguars’ cap space stands
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Part of the squeeze comes from $62.25 million in dead money, the eighth-most in the NFL. A midseason trade helps a little, since the acquiring team only takes on the part of a player’s base salary that’s left, and by the deadline that’s roughly half of it. That still rules out most starting-caliber tackles on bigger deals unless the Jaguars restructure a contract to make room. Dawand Jones and Austin Jackson are the kind of names that have come up, and neither would come cheap in a trade, either.
Next year looks tighter. Spotrac has the Jaguars $12.8 million over the 2027 cap, 29th in the league. Josh Hines-Allen’s cap number jumps from $18.84 million to $41.29 million, and Trevor Lawrence’s goes from $24 million to $35 million. Little, Van Lanen and Harrison combine for about $53.8 million in 2027, with Harrison’s $19.072 million fifth-year option already guaranteed. Any tackle who comes with 2027 money adds to that hole, which makes a player in the final year of his deal the most realistic target. Jacksonville still owns its first five picks in the 2027 draft if it wants to deal one, the way an earlier proposal sent picks to Philadelphia for pass-rush help.
The coaching staff talked like this exact scenario was covered. “We have seven, eight starter-caliber offensive linemen, and I know that’s an incredibly rare luxury,” offensive coordinator Grant Udinski said in England last week. Little has started more than 30 games at left tackle in his career, and the Jaguars have the bye week to sort things out before the Colts come to town. The cap sheet means most of the answer has to come from inside the building, at least until another tackle gets hurt.
More on the Jacksonville Jaguars
- Walker Little Has 11 Games to Prove Jaguars Can Survive Without Anton Harrison
- Anton Harrison’s Torn ACL Puts a Wrinkle in the Jaguars’ Plans for His Next Contract
- Division’s Slow Start Gives Jaguars Easiest Path to Playoffs
- Jaguars Should Extend Ventrell Miller Before His Price Climbs Into Devin Lloyd Territory
