During Monday’s introduction of new Jaguars General Manager James Gladstone, team President Mark Lamping said the timeline for the Jaguars to finalize plans for the 2027 season is fast approaching.

In 2025, the Jaguars will play in EverBank Stadium as renovations continue outside the field. In 2026, stadium capacity will be reduced to around 43,500. The following year, the Jaguars will play home games in Orlando or Gainesville in addition to games in London.

“We’re probably within 30 to 45 days from submitting a report to the National Football League which will summarize our evaluation of all the alternatives,” Lamping said. “We’ll also include a recommendation. The league will receive that. They’ll study that. We’ll have a lot of back and forth.”

It is a rare, but not unprecedented situation for the league to consider. In 2002, the Chicago Bears played home games at the University of Illinois’ Memorial Stadium in Champaign while renovations took place at Soldier Field in Chicago.

In 1998, the Tennessee Titans (then, the Tennessee Oilers) played home games at Vanderbilt Stadium while a new stadium was being built.

The difference in the Jaguars’ situation will be their history of playing in London. It’s possible — even likely — that the Jaguars will play a pair of games in London in 2027, perhaps both “home” games.

Including preseason games, the Jaguars must find sites for 10 “home” games each year. One of the factors to be considered if Gainesville is selected for some of the games is the hotel situation. When the Florida Gators host visiting teams, the opponent usually stays in Ocala, about a 45-minute bus ride from Gainesville.

Orlando has a surplus of hotels that meet or exceed NFL standards.

“If we can get to a consensus, which I’m sure we’ll be able to do that, we’ll then go through the normal NFL approval process,” Lamping added Monday. “It would go to committee meetings in advance of, probably the May owners’ meeting, and then if things advance through the committee process, I think maybe by the May owners’ meeting, there may be something to consider.”

In addition to gaining approval from the league, three-quarters of the NFL owners would also have to approve of the plan.

For now, construction continues outside of EverBank Stadium.

“If you look outside, you’re going to see that there are some areas that are fenced off. There’s some deep pile work that’s going on there,” Lamping said. “You’ll see a crane that’s in the south end of the end zone. Work is going on. It commenced about 45 days ago. So far, no surprises, but a long, long way to go.”

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A federal judge on Monday blocked immigration agents from conducting enforcement operations in houses of worship for Quakers and a handful of other religious groups.

U.S. District Judge Theodore Chang found that a Trump administration policy could violate their religious freedom and should be blocked while a lawsuit challenging it plays out.

The preliminary injunction from the Maryland-based judge only applies to the plaintiffs, which also include a Georgia-based network of Baptist churches and a Sikh temple in California.

They sued after the Trump administration threw out Department of Homeland Security policies limiting where migrant arrests could happen as President Donald Trump seeks to make good on campaign promises to carry out mass deportations.

The policy change said field agents using “common sense” and “discretion” can conduct immigration enforcement operations at houses of worship without a supervisor’s approval.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys argue that the new DHS directive departs from the government’s 30-year-old policy against staging immigration enforcement operations in “protected areas,” or “sensitive locations.”

Five Quaker congregations from Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia sued DHS and its Secretary, Kristi Noem, on Jan. 27, less than a week after the new policy was announced.

Many immigrants are afraid to attend religious services while the government enforces the new rule, lawyers for the congregations said in a court filing.

“It’s a fear that people are experiencing across the county,” plaintiffs’ attorney Bradley Girard told the judge during a February hearing. “People are not showing up, and the plaintiffs are suffering as a result.”

Government lawyers claim the plaintiffs are asking the court to interfere with law-enforcement activities based on mere speculation.

“Plaintiffs have provided no evidence indicating that any of their religious organizations have been targeted,” Justice Department attorney Kristina Wolfe told the judge, who was appointed by President Barack Obama.

More than two dozen Christian and Jewish groups representing millions of Americans have also filed a similar but separate lawsuit in Washington, D.C.

Plaintiffs in the Maryland case are represented by the Democracy Forward Foundation, whose lawyers asked the judge to block DHS enforcement of the policy on a nationwide basis.

“DHS’s new policy gives it the authority to enter any house of worship across the country, no matter its religious beliefs,” the attorneys wrote.

Government lawyers say immigration enforcement activities have been allowed in sensitive places, including houses of worship, for decades. The only change in the policy is that a supervisor’s approval is no longer mandatory, they added.

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Republished with permission of The Associated Press.

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Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.

First Shot

Gov. Ron DeSantis is launching a Florida version of DOGE, the quasi-department that has upended a handful of federal agencies in the weeks since President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

The initiative, the “DOGE Task Force,” lifts the name of the Elon Musk-led version and will essentially mirror it in form and function, though it’s unlikely to be staffed by sub-20-year-old techies.

The executive order establishing the task force notes that Florida has the fewest government employees per capita of any state. Separately, recent legislative committee testimony focused on state jobs that have remained vacant for years.

Still, DeSantis believes the state workforce should be further reduced. He wants to cut 740 net positions in the next budget despite adding law enforcement and corrections staff. DeSantis is also proposing the sunset of 70 Boards and Commissions with 900 associated positions “to get them off the books,” pending legislative ratification.

“There’s hundreds of these things. A lot of people have never heard of them, but they’re there,” DeSantis said.

He noted that many of them hadn’t met in years. He also wants to “utilize” artificial intelligence for contract review.

Additionally, DeSantis wants to ensure colleges and universities are “good stewards” of tax dollars, asking for an independent audit of their finances in what he calls the “DOGE-ing” of the State University System.

Read more on Florida Politics.

Evening Reads

—“Young voters worldwide shifting away from establishment parties.” via Dave Trotter of Voting Trend

—”U.S. votes against U.N. resolution condemning Russia for Ukraine war” via Karen DeYoung and John Hudson

—”Inside the proposed U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal” via Barak Ravid and Dave Lawler of Axios

—”Donald Trump poised to extort Ukraine in the name of peace” via Mac William Bishop of Rolling Stone

—”Three years into war in Ukraine, Trump ushers in new world for Putin” via Paul Sonne of The New York Times

—”Elon Musk is trying to make sleep deprivation cool again” via Dylan Scott of Vox

—”DeSantis disses Byron Donalds, touts First Lady, when asked about 2026 Governor race” via Mitch Perry of the Florida Phoenix

—”Joe Gruters looks to strike ‘Gulf of Mexico’ from school materials” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics

—”Blaise Ingoglia files bill to raise homestead exemptions, says current cap ‘doesn’t cut it anymore’” via Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics