Jaguars trade Tyson Campbell

The Jaguars traded Tyson Campbell and a seventh-round pick in the 2026 draft for CB Greg Newsome II and a sixth-round pick in the 2026 draft just two days after the win on Monday Night Football. Campbell was drafted 33rd overall in the 2021 draft and was signed to a 4-year, $76 million contract in the 2024 offseason.

In 2022, Tyson had the best year of his career. He recorded 3 interceptions, 15 pass deflections and allowed a 78 passer rating when targeted. In the 28 games since then, he has recorded just 1 interception, 17 pass deflections, a 114.9 passer rating allowed and has played just 28/39 possible games.

There are 3 lot main for the cornerbacks' sudden dropoff, with the biggest being scheme fit. This was Tyson's 4th defensive coordinator, and he only fits as a physical press man corner. Most of the coordinators he has played under have primarily run zone schemes, which he has struggled in with his lack of lateral speed.

The 2nd reason for this dropoff is injuries. In 2023, he was in and out of the lineup with a hamstring injury that he never fully recovered from during the season. In 2024, he missed 5 straight games from the same hamstring injury. It appears it has already taken a toll on his explosiveness, which was one of his best attributes.

The last piece of Campbell's decline is the fact that he has always struggled to turn around for the ball, which has hurt him on deep passes countless times. This season we have already seen him beat multiple times down the field for chunk plays, simply because he did not play the ball in coverage. The lack of improvement in this area, along with injuries and scheme fits has all led to the Jaguars no longer seeing him as a valuable player.

Greg Newsome is a player that fits what the Jaguars do much better scheme-wise, as well as not having to be the team' 2nd or 3rd best cornerback. Newsome had his best year in 2023, recording 2 interceptions, 14 pass deflections, allowed a 56.7% completion percentage and a 74.8 passer rating. In 2024, however, his production fell off a cliff with him playing the nickel. In his new position, he recorded just 5 pass deflections, allowed a 62.7% completion percentage and a 112.5 passer rating.

In 2025, Newsome has gotten closer to his 2023 self, which is exactly what the Jaguars need. With a secondary that has struggled without creating turnovers, Newsome should help provide more reliability on the outside alongside Travis Hunter.

Trade details

According to Spotrac.com, the Jaguars will pay Tyson Campbell $6.7 million for the rest of the 2025 season and $19.5 million in 2026. Of course, paying a player nearly $20 million to not play for you is not great, but receiving a player of Greg Newsome's caliber for Campbell's depreciating value is still a good deal.

In 2025, the Jaguars will have to pay Greg Newsome $9.6 million for the rest of the season. This is a low-risk, high-reward trade because of the fact that Newsome is in the final year of his contract. In a prove-it year, he will have 12 games to be a standout player or walk in free agency. If he plays well, we could see him signed for a similar deal to Tyson Campbell, somewhere along the lines of $15-17 million a year.

With the trade, the Jaguars gave up their 2026 7th-round pick in exchange for the Browns 2026 6th-round pick. With the Browns currently sitting at 1-4, this could be an early pick in the 6th round, meaning the Jaguars will have moved up anywhere between 40-60 spots in the draft for a player that will fit them better and cost less in the short term.

Grading the trade

Grading trades before games have been played is tough, but it does appear early on that the Jaguars made the correct decision. If, at worst, Greg Newsome is a worse player than Tyson Campbell, the only repercussion will be the dead money paid in 2026. The upside, however, is much higher. If Newsome were to play well, they could sign him to a similar contract to what Campbell received in 2024 while being much more productive. A low-risk, high-reward trade like this has a high floor and relatively high ceiling, so for that reason I am giving the trade a B.

It is unlikely that Newsome will become the team's best or even 2nd-best cornerback, so it would be tough to give a trade for the 3rd-best player at his position on the team an A, but the Jaguars got as realistic of a trade package as they could get for Tyson Campbell for the long and short term. Sitting at 4-1 and leading the league in turnovers, we may have just seen the defense get even better.

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