The Jacksonville Jaguars waived rookie quarterback Joey Aguilar Saturday as the team completed a trade for Quinn Ewers, who spent time as the Miami Dolphins' starter in 2025.
Aguilar's roster fate: waived, but not necessarily gone
The team placed Aguilar on waivers. Jacksonville is hoping he clears waivers so they can sign him to the practice squad and do not want him out of the organization.
That move creates a short-term risk for Aguilar — any club can claim him during the waiver period — but it also signals the Jaguars' desire to preserve developmental depth behind the top quarterbacks on their roster.
Quinn Ewers' arrival and what it means for the depth chart
On Saturday, Jacksonville made a trade for Quinn Ewers. Ewers, a second-year player, spent time as the Miami Dolphins’ starter in 2025, giving him some on-field NFL experience heading into the new season.
Even with Ewers' arrival, there is little ambiguity at the top of the Jaguars’ quarterback room. Yardbarker noted "there is not much doubt about the quarterback situation for the Jaguars" and emphasized that Trevor Lawrence remains the team's clear franchise quarterback.
Yardbarker also framed Ewers' role as primarily a depth addition: the outlet wrote that Ewers "likely projects to be the team’s backup moving forward." That projection fits the roster move — adding an experienced second-year player while preserving the team’s investment in Lawrence as the starter.
For Aguilar, the transaction and subsequent waiver sit within that broader context: even if he is not kept on the 53-man roster, Yardbarker reported that "if nothing else, Aguilar still has a role inside the organization." The Jaguars' stated hope to land him on the practice squad would allow Aguilar to remain in the building and continue developing under the club's coaching staff.
The Jaguars' sequence of moves — trading for a young, recently starting NFL quarterback and waiving a rookie they want to retain in a developmental role — clarifies the team's short-term structure behind Trevor Lawrence. Ewers provides an experienced option with starting experience, while the club attempts to keep Aguilar close as a potential future contributor.
