James Gladstone Makes Interesting Revelation About Jaguars Veteran

The Jacksonville Jaguars have made plenty of changes to their roster this offseason, particularly to the secondary.

Turns out, one of the biggest changes was one that was years in the making.

The Jaguars signed veteran cornerback Jourdan Lewis this offseason to fill a much-needed leadership void in the secondary, but the signing went beyond Lewis being a mentor for Tyson Campbell, Jarrian Jones and Travis Hunter.

Instead, Jaguars general manager James Gladstone made a key revelation about Lewis recently: he is a player the Los Angeles Rams and Sean McVay had wanted to sign for years before Gladstone became Jaguars general manager.

"The cornerback group looks like a potential strength, with or without Hunter," ESPN's Dan Graziano said.

"The addition of former Cowboy Jourdan Lewis in free agency was a big one for former Rams exec Gladstone, who said L.A. tried to get him several times over the years because Sean McVay always said he was especially tough to game-plan against. The Jags believe Lewis is already having an impact as a leader in that room."

Lewis has been a standout performer for the Jaguars in training camp, with the veteran cornerback making plays on the field and passing down his knowledge off the field.

“He’s been a heck of a vet. A guy that’s played in this league for a long time and has been successful. So, just picking his brain," Jaguars cornerback Tyson Campbell said at training camp on Sunday.

"Fun guy to be around, great personality, brings a lot of energy each and every day.”

Lewis, who turns 30 in August, was a third-round pick out of Michigan in the 2017 NFL Draft and quickly became one of the faces of the Cowboys' defense.

Lewis spent eight years with the Cowboys, appearing in 115 regular season games and four playoff games. In his tenure with the Cowboys, Lewis recorded 10 interceptions, 44 pass breakups, 9.5 sacks, 19 tackles for loss, five forced fumbles, nine fumble recoveries, 386 combined tackles, and 275 solo tackles.

Lewis appeared in 16 games for the Cowboys during the 2024 season, recording one interception, eight pass breakups, one forced fumble, one sack, three tackles for loss, and 71 total tackles.