Brian Thomas Jr.'s Touchdown Made the Jaguars' Trade Decision Harder, Not Easier
The receiver at the center of Jacksonville's trade-deadline speculation opened the scoring Sunday with a 12-yard touchdown against Indianapolis - his second of the year and his first catch of any kind since Week 4. It was also his only target the rest of the game, with a drop in tight coverage, which is why the Nov. 10 deadline question did not get any cleaner.
Brian Thomas Jr. gave the Jaguars something to think about in the first quarter on Sunday. The third-year receiver, who multiple teams across the NFL believe will be available at the Nov. 10 trade deadline, reeled in a 12-yard touchdown pass that put Jacksonville up 7-0 against Indianapolis, Black and Teal reported in a file opened and read directly by the desk this run. Before the game, Thomas had made clear he was not paying attention to the trade rumors and was focused on helping his team; on the opening score, he delivered on that word.
The rest of the afternoon is why the decision stays hard. Thomas was targeted only once more the remainder of the game and dropped a pass in tight coverage, the report states. The Florida Times-Union's game rewind, also read this run, frames the wider context the front office is weighing: the division-leading Jaguars would expect to be buyers at the deadline, yet the attention around the team has been on whether they would part with a first-round pick from just three years ago whose production has fallen sharply since a promising rookie campaign - nearly 1,300 yards with 10 touchdowns as a rookie, by Black and Teal's account. Head coach Liam Coen voiced his support for Thomas staying before the game, as have his teammates, the Times-Union reported, and said before Week 8 that he expected Thomas to make plays against the Colts.
The options, as the report lays them out, cut both ways. Jacksonville could afford to trade Thomas because rookie Josh Cameron and Travis Hunter are also in the receiver mix; it could equally keep him as insurance against injuries at the position. If the Jaguars do make him available, he could draw plenty of interest from receiver-needy teams - though what compensation he would command after an underwhelming season is hard to tell, the report states.
So the honest summary is the one the report itself lands on: Thomas's situation did not get any cleaner in the win over the Colts. A trade is expected, the file states, and at this point anything could happen. The desk carries no claim beyond that - no deal, no talks and no asking price had been reported in the files read this run, and the next fixed point is the deadline itself, Nov. 10, with a Thursday-night game at Baltimore in between.
