Why Foyesade Oluokun Believes Offseason Improvement Is a Must for the Jaguars

The NFL’s tackles leader vows to reach greater heights next season.

In the post game locker room following an AFC Divisional Round exit, players were called upon to give reflections of the 2022-2023 journey. From 3-7 to 9-8 and defying odds along the way, this year's Jaguars squad rose to the occasion.

However, for the players the freshness of the loss is one that will sting for the foreseeable future, and the motivation to eclipse greater marks was born from the depths of defeat. Jaguars linebacker Foye Oluokun is one of those players that is disappointed with how things ended, but is ready to work toward improvement as a unit.

“It hurts,” Oluokun said. “We have come a long way. We were looking down and out at whatever it was, from a lot to a little. I’m talking about wins and losses. We made a run to get into the postseason. We haven't been to the postseason in a long time. Everybody came together as a team. Everybody played for their brothers, and everybody was fighting all the way to the end of games. We saw a lot of games go our way towards the end of the season. 

"You get to this point, and you’re playing extra football. You get this far, you don’t want to only go this far. We wanted to keep going. We learned a lot as a team. I told them boys, ‘you really changed my career in terms of how I look at NFL football.’ I got back to playing football for the boys, for my brothers, as a team in general. There is a camaraderie we had and to have it come up short like that, it hurts. We learned a lot. We are going to use that. I’m going into the offseason, and I am going to be better. I’m going to be better. Everybody, in turn, will be better. The team is going to be better. We learned a lot.”

For Oluokun, this off-season will be geared toward continuing to shift the narrative around this young Jaguars squad. Gone are the days of mediocrity, replaced instead by the strength and determination of a contender.

“It felt like year one when we were losing,” Oluokun said when asked about how big it was to get this far in his first year with Jacksonville. 

“It felt like year two when we were winning. We wanted to keep it going as long as possible. I guess it was year one, and we want to make it a better year two. To see that success in year one, we know that we are a force to be reckoned with and we know what to expect as a team. Going into the offseason and coming into training camp, we are not accepting mediocrity from this team anymore. That's for sure. We know what we are capable of. Teams are going to be ready for us. They know we are force too, and we have to play better than they are expecting.”