We know who many of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ unrestricted free agents are this offseason, but which players are restricted free agents?
An unrestricted free agent is a player with four or more years of accrued NFL experience. These players are able to negotiate with any team and can sign where they please.
Restricted free agents have, well, more restrictions.
What is a restricted free agent?
A restricted free agent (RFA) is a player with three accrued years of NFL experience. The RFA’s current team has the option of placing one of three tenders on that player: a first-round tender, a second-round tender, or a right of first refusal tender.
If no tender is placed on an RFA, they then become an unrestricted free agent. However, if one of those tenders is placed on the RFA, they can then negotiate with other teams, but there is a caveat.
If the tendered RFA receives an offer from another organization, the current team has the opportunity to match the contract. If they do, then the RFA returns to the original team. But if they don’t, whatever tender was placed on the RFA, the original team will get that as compensation from the new team.
For example, if another team is willing to sign away a player with a first-round tender, the new team would have to give the original team a first-round draft pick in return.
If the RFA receives a tender but does not get an offer from another team, they will then re-sign with the original team and receive a one-year contract at a predetermined amount set by the NFLPA based on which tender was utilized.
Who are the Jacksonville Jaguars‘ 2026 restricted free agents?
- CB Keith Taylor
Will the Jaguars bring back Keith Taylor?
The Jaguars brought Taylor in late in the season to bolster the cornerback depth after Jourdan Lewis was placed on injured reserve.
Given that the cornerback position is currently a bit thin, I would guess that Taylor returns and joins the offseason roster, but that’s not a must by any means.
If the Jaguars do bring back Taylor, it will be in a roundabout way.
The right of first refusal tender — the cheapest of the three tenders — is projected to cost $3.54 million this season. Taylor would not earn that on the open market.
So Jacksonville will not tender Taylor, making him an unrestricted free agent, at which point the Jaguars could bring him back on what is likely a league minimum deal.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Jaguars roster: Which players are restricted free agents in 2026?
