Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd joins the Pro Bowl after an outstanding season. His future looks bright, with a lucrative free agency approaching.
Plaudits for the Jacksonville Jaguars' historic season keep pouring in, as the NFL announced Thursday that All-Pro linebacker Devin Lloyd has been named to the 2026 Pro Bowl.
Initially voted an alternate, Lloyd is replacing Pittsburgh Steelers LB T.J. Watt, who is unable to participate due to injury.
Lloyd will join teammate and long snapper Ross Matiscik as the Jaguars' only two representatives on the AFC Pro-Bowl roster. Matiscik was selected to his third straight Pro Bowl in December.
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence, running back Travis Etienne Jr., and Parker Washington, in his role as a punt returner, were also named 2026 Pro-Bowl alternates.
The Pro Bowl Game is set for Tuesday, Feb. 3, in San Francisco during Super Bowl week.
Lloyd likely is the best defensive player the Jags had this season, though he's not expected to remain in Jacksonville for long.
The fourth-year pro is having his best season ever in the NFL and is headed into free agency, which opens in mid-March. The 27-year-old linebacker is expected to command top-dollar, with estimates in the ballpark of $20 million per year.
Lloyd was named an NFL All-Pro on Jan. 10, his first time earning the honor. He was selected to the second team, while Matiscik netted his third straight first-team honor. The two were the only Jaguars players chosen for the 2025 season.
Lloyd started 15 games this season and racked up 74 tackles (six for a loss), 10 quarterback hits, seven passes defensed, a team-high five interceptions (one a pick-six), 1.5 sacks, and one fumble recovery; he added seven tackles on special teams. His five picks and six takeaways tied for the second and third most in the NFL, respectively.
Though he was out for two games and limited for three more due to a preseason chest injury and a nagging calf injury through midseason, Lloyd became the second player in the last 20 seasons to have at least 10 QB hits and five interceptions in a season and the first since Tampa Bay Buccaneers LB Lavonte David in 2013. Five of his 10 QB hits were against the Cardinals' Jacoby Brissett in Week 12’s win at Arizona -- a number that tied the most by a linebacker in a game this season and marked the most by a Jaguar in a game since defensive lineman Calais Campbell in 2019.
Lloyd’s 99-yard touchdown in the Jaguars’ Week 5 win against Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football was the longest in franchise history and the longest regular-season return by a linebacker since 1941. Additionally, he had six tackles and a fumble recovery on special teams in the Jaguars' loss to the Bills in the first round of the playoffs.
Lloyd merited AFC Defensive Player of the Month honors for September and was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week following Week 4, after the Jaguars defeated the 49ers 26-21 in San Francisco in a defensive showcase.
In April, the Jaguars declined to pick up a fifth-year option for Lloyd, a first-round draft pick out of Utah in 2022. His four-year, $13 million rookie contract expires as the NFL's league year ends, making Lloyd an unrestricted free agent.
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