The Jacksonville Jaguars cleaned house after the 2024 season, bringing in Liam Coen and James Gladstone as head coach and GM, respectively. It’s common for incumbent players not to be in the new regime’s plans, and that could be happening for veteran receiver Gabe Davis.
Liam Coen Fails To Mention Gabe Davis at Presser, Is the WR on the Way Out?
The Buffalo Bills selected Davis in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He quickly developed into a reliable second option for Josh Allen behind Stefon Diggs and had one of the all-time postseason performances in 2021. In that year’s Divisional Round matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, Davis had 8 receptions, 201 yards, and four touchdowns.
The Bills ultimately lost in overtime, but “Big Game Gabe” firmly established himself as a weapon in Buffalo’s offense. He followed that up by setting career highs in catches (48) and yards (836) while adding seven touchdowns in 2022.
Davis was allowed to test free agency after posting 45 receptions, 746 yards, and seven more scores the following season. Buffalo wasn’t willing to overpay for a receiver who hadn’t eclipsed 1,000 yards in a season, and apparently made the right decision after Davis’ first year in Jacksonville.
The five-year veteran posted 20 receptions, 239 yards, and two touchdowns in his first year with the Jaguars. He signed a three-year, $39 million deal with the team last offseason, and may already be on the outs.
Travis Holmes of Big Cat Country broke down Coen and Gladstone’s pre-draft media session and noticed an interesting answer Coen gave about his offense. Adam Levitan of Establish The Run tweeted out Holmes’ comments.
It could very well be over for Gabe Davis. Via Big Cat Country: pic.twitter.com/a6WIRvLmJk
— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan)
Levitan tweeted, “It could very well be over for Gave Davis. Via Big Cat Country,” with a screenshot of Holmes’ piece. The screenshot included a quote from Coen: “We’re going to spread the ball out hopefully equally. That was the nice thing about being last year with Tampa, we had to play a lot of different players in different personnel groupings.
“I think you look naturally right now at [WR] Parker Washington and [WR] Dyami Brown at the receiver positions. Then saying [TE] Brenton Strange hopefully continues to ascend.” Coen mentioned Brian Thomas Jr. and how he’ll have to get more players involved so defenses can’t key on the rookie phenom. However, Coen didn’t talk about Davis.
Coen could have simply made a mistake not mentioning Davis, but it’s common for some players to be left out in the cold when new coaches are hired. Coen might not see a spot for Davis in his offense or feel that Davis’ play has fallen off. Any major additions to the receiver room in the 2025 NFL Draft would be a good indication that this wasn’t a mistake by the head coach.
