Parker Washington has turned the final year of his rookie contract into the best argument for a big raise on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ roster. The receiver leads Jacksonville in catches (25), receiving yards (352) and receiving touchdowns (four) through five games, and Trevor Lawrence left no doubt this week about where the quarterback ranks him.
“We consider him an elite wide receiver,” Lawrence told Jaguars beat writer Michael DiRocco. “I don’t know what everybody else thinks, but we feel like he’s pretty freaking good.”
The catch that won London
Washington’s latest proof came Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Facing fourth-and-5 from the Philadelphia 27 with a little more than three minutes left, Lawrence went to him against Eagles cornerback Riq Woolen. Washington fought through contact, picked up the ball late, reached out with his right hand and pulled it in while falling backward into the end zone. That touchdown put Jacksonville ahead, and Cam Little’s 57-yard field goal at the final whistle finished a 19-17 win over the Eagles.
“As soon as I saw it, I was like, ‘OK, there we go,’” Washington said. He finished with six catches for 124 yards and both of Lawrence’s touchdown passes.
A money-down receiver
The fourth-down grab fit a pattern. Since Week 11 of the 2025 season, Washington has 17 catches for a league-high 381 yards on third and fourth downs, and his 22.4 yards per catch in those situations is the best in the NFL among players with at least 10 catches, according to DiRocco’s research. Since the start of last season he has 80 catches for 1,199 yards and nine touchdowns.
He does it at 5-foot-10 with 29-inch arms. Washington credits a game his father played with him from the age of three, throwing balled-up paper and taped scraps at him and telling him to “catch it with your eyes.” His position coach at Penn State, Taylor Stubblefield, said Washington is “built like a running back,” with the lower-body strength and body control to win contested balls that look like overthrows.
Head coach Liam Coen said the difficult catches have become so routine that they almost stop surprising the staff. “To continue to see this guy make plays for our team, especially in some of these critical moments, it just speaks to the dude,” Coen said.
Where the contract stands
Jacksonville drafted Washington in the sixth round in 2023, No. 185 overall, and he is playing out a four-year, $4 million rookie deal. The Jaguars have wanted to extend him since the 2025 season ended, but the two sides could not agree on annual pay before Week 1, and Washington chose to bet on himself.
The club has not closed the door on in-season talks. Jacksonville gave in-season extensions to receiver Jakobi Meyers and offensive tackle Cole Van Lanen during the 2025 season, and Dan Graziano wrote this week that discussions with Washington could pick up again before the year is out. DiRocco projects a deal that could pay more than $30 million a year.
The comparisons keep moving in Washington’s favor. Arizona’s Michael Wilson, who has 107 catches for 1,294 yards and eight touchdowns since the start of 2025, signed a three-year, $75 million extension in September worth $25 million a year. Baltimore’s Zay Flowers ($35 million a year) and Atlanta’s Drake London ($35.3 million) sit near the top of the market.
Washington says he is leaving the numbers to his agent. “The main thing for me is just really sticking to the foundation of what got me to this point,” he said. “No matter who’s around me, just making the catch.”
Next up
The 4-1 Jaguars stay in London for Week 6 and face the Houston Texans at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, their first division game of the season.
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