Brian Thomas Jr. Trade Linked to Super Bowl Hopefuls in New NFL Rumors, Why Jags 'Relented' Revealed

As Brian Thomas Jr.'s role in the Jacksonville Jaguars offense continues to diminsh, the team appears to be softening in their stance about moving him leading up to the trade deadline on Nov. 10.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler explained on SportsCenter that the Jaguars had "relented" on potentially trading Thomas in the past because of his talent, but now there is a feeling around the NFL that a deal could happen in the next few weeks with teams like the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers in the market for help at receiver:

"Brian Thomas Jr., immensely talented, but I've talked to several teams who believe he could be dealt over the next few weeks. Jacksonville has relented in the past. They've kept him because he's such a big talent. They hoped that his deep threat would balance things out with other receivers. The last two weeks, no catches, had just 15 snaps, so he was essentially benched in that London game against Houston. So, something has to give. There's going to be some interested parties. Kansas City's been looking around at potentially adding a receiver. Pittsburgh to some extent."

Thomas is coming off a game in Week 6 against the Houston Texans when he played a total of 15 offensive snaps.

Of the seven lowest snap-count games for Thomas in his NFL career, six have come this season. The only outlier was Week 8 of the 2024 season when he left in the third quarter against the Green Bay Packers due to chest and rib injuries.

Among Jaguars players, Thomas' 105 receiving yards are fewer than running back Bhayshul Tuten (126) and sixth-round rookie Josh Cameron (117).

Parker Washington and Jakobi Meyers have clearly moved ahead of Thomas on the receiver depth chart.

Trading Thomas during the season might be the last time the Jaguars can get close to maximum value for him. He's still young enough, having just turned 24 on Oct. 8, for another team to believe in his ability to get back to the level he played at as a rookie.

Even if the Jaguars are ready to move on from Thomas, his potential landing spot will be worth monitoring.

The Jaguars are clearly established as a Super Bowl contender in the AFC, so trading Thomas to a team like the Chiefs or Steelers who they could end up meeting in the playoffs might make it hard for either of them to get a deal done.

One thing that does help Jacksonville's leverage is there are no shortage of playoff contenders in both conferences that could be in the market for a receiver.

Teams like the Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Washington Commanders are all dealing with at least one significant injury to a wide receiver.

Thomas' career arc to this point has been baffling. He looked like a superstar as a rookie in 2024 with 87 receptions, 1,282 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns in 17 games.

Since that time, though, Thomas has 57 receptions for 812 yards and three touchdowns in his last 20 games played. He is only owed $3.8 million in base salary through 2027.