Report: Jaguars Plan to Release Rayshawn Jenkins

The Jaguars are releasing their third big-money veteran on defense.

The Jacksonville Jaguars continued to clear cap space on Tuesday, reportedly releasing veteran safety Rayshawn Jenkins after releasing Darious Williams and Foley Fatukasi.

According to multiple reports, the release of Jenkins will save the Jaguars a little over $5 million in cap space. Jenkins was previously set to be the sixth-highest-paid player on the roster with a $12,284,000 cap hit.

Jenkins, who the Jaguars signed to a four-year, $35 million deal in 2021, started all 48 games he appeared in for the Jaguars over the last three years, along with two playoff starts. 

Jenkins started 17 games in 2023, recording 101 tackles, seven tackles for loss, one sack, two interceptions, and nine pass deflections. In 2022, Jenkins recorded three interceptions and three forced fumbles, making two of the biggest plays of the year with a walk-off pick-six vs. the Dallas Cowboys and a game-winning forced fumble vs. the Tennessee Titans in Week 18 to send the Jaguars to the playoffs.

“Well, it’s tough because you get attached to these players as well. So you got to put the emotional side away because they give so much to the organization," Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke said to 1010XL's Frank Frangie at the NFL Scouting Combine. 

Every one of these guys gives everything they have to hopefully winning a championship. And there’s some times when you can’t please them all financially, it’s impossible. You got young guys coming in that eventually are going to need contracts, like Trevor [Lawrence], and Tyson [Campbell], and Andre [Cisco], all these guys- Walker [Litte]. You got a group of guys that are ascending, and then you got a group that’s there making it. You can’t make them all happy financially. There’s a cap, and the cap is real. Now, you can push some money and do some things, but at some point you got to make tough decisions, and I think that’s where we’re at with this offseason. There’s going to be some tough decisions that have to be made.”