How Releasing Gabe Davis Impacts Jaguars' Cap Space

With the Jacksonville Jaguars releasing veteran wide receiver Gabe Davis on Wednesday, there are some clear financial ramifications for the Jaguars.

First things first: Davis signed a three-year, $39 million deal with the Jaguars last March. This included $24 million guaranteed, $11 of which was guaranteed to Davis for the 2025 season, according to Spotrac.

The release of Davis means the Jaguars will take on $20.3 million in dead cap charges, but the Jaguars are designating Davis as a post-June 1st cut to divide the dead cap between this season and next season.

For this season, Davis will carry a dead cap of $5.35 million. Next season, Davis' dead cap will escalate to $14.6 million -- currently slated to be the fifth-biggest cap hit on the Jaguars' roster in 2026.

All in all, releasing Davis is a costly move but is one the Jaguars are spreading over the next two seasons. For the Jaguars to take on such a cap hit in 2026 shows how far they were willing to move on Davis, who was acquired by the last regime and who is coming off a knee injury from the 2024 season.

Appearing in 10 games for the Jaguars last year, Davis caught 20 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns

The Jaguars have made it clear how willing they are to move on from the Trent Baalke era, and the roster has already been overturned a good amount. Davis is the latest addition, and several Baalke holdovers from the last era could be competing for spots on the roster when training camp rolls around.

As things stand, the James Gladstone and Liam Coen era has the Jaguars hitting the reset button in a big way. Considering the cap rolls over into next year and the cap is seemingly rising by significant figures each year, the Jaguars can easily take on the cap hit from Davis' release.

The Jaguars' receiver room now has three veterans in it in Brian Thomas Jr., Parker Washington and Dyami Brown, with Brown having the most experience of the veteran trio. The unit also has rookie sensation Travis Hunter, who is set to play both receiver and cornerback while making receiver his primary focus.