Cooper Hodges

Current Contract

Contract Value Index (CVI)

The Jaguars secured decent value with Cooper Hodges' four-year, $3.9M deal, landing what amounts to a fair contract for developmental offensive line depth. At just $1M annually with minimal guaranteed money, Jacksonville is essentially buying a lottery ticket on a young tackle's upside without meaningful financial risk. The contract structure heavily favors the team — with only $100K guaranteed, they can cut bait at any point if Hodges doesn't develop into a reliable backup or eventual starter. This C+ CVI reflects the modest investment matching realistic expectations for an unproven tackle who projects as organizational depth rather than immediate impact. For a franchise still building its offensive line foundation, locking up potential swing tackle insurance at bargain rates represents smart roster construction, even if Hodges never develops beyond a practice squad contributor.

Contracts in the Same Value Band

Other same-position deals the Contract Value Index also places in the C band — a quick read on where Cooper's contract sits relative to comparable money.

Performance Analysis

Cooper Hodges exits Jacksonville as one of the more forgettable seventh-round gambles of the 2023 draft class, a replacement-level offensive tackle who never carved out a meaningful role across two seasons with the Jaguars. Appearing in just nine games over his career, Hodges never accumulated the kind of consistent snap share that separates a developmental prospect from a roster body, and his performance grade reflects a player who simply could not clear the bar for a legitimate NFL rotation spot. The data offers no standout statistical strength to point to, which is itself the story — two seasons in, a lineman at 25 years old should at least be establishing a case for a starting role or reliable backup designation, and Hodges never mounted that argument. His release was folded into the roster shuffle surrounding Jacksonville's trade for defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro, which tells you everything about how the front office viewed his value: an afterthought in a transaction footnote. The media framing around the cut has been blunt, with several outlets characterizing it as another talent evaluation miss under the previous regime, and the fan base barely registered the move amid excitement over the team's defensive upgrades. At 25, Hodges is young enough to catch on elsewhere as a waiver wire flier, but his two-year tenure in Jacksonville produced nothing to suggest he is anything beyond roster filler at the NFL level.

How Cooper Compares at the Position

Cooper Hodges ranks 168th of 189 graded offensive tackles by performance. That slots Cooper between Dylan Cook (D-) just ahead and Darian Kinnard (F) just behind.

Fan Sentiment

Cooper Hodges' release from Jacksonville generated essentially zero public controversy — the narrative around this move was dead on arrival, and the sentiment grade reflects exactly that. Media coverage framed the cut as pure transactional housekeeping, a direct consequence of the Jaguars' trade to acquire defensive lineman Ruke Orhorhoro, with Hodges serving as little more than the roster slot that needed clearing. His time on the PUP list had already signaled his limited availability, reinforcing the perception that he was replacement-level depth rather than a meaningful piece of Jacksonville's offensive line plans. On the field, his profile matches the narrative — appearing in nine games during the 2024 season as a seventh-round pick out of the 2023 draft, he never built the kind of production resume that would make his departure register as a loss. The broader Jacksonville roster shuffle — including the Orhorhoro trade, the signing of RB Chris Rodriguez, and a CB Keith Taylor extension — has consumed all the attention, leaving Hodges' departure as a footnote in a story that was never about him. The bottom line: this is a sentiment story with no sentiment, a move that fans and media alike processed in seconds before pivoting back to what actually interests them — the defensive reinforcement Jacksonville is clearly prioritizing heading into the regular season.