JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars have much bigger things on their plate Thursday night than the NFL Trade Deadline. But that could change in a quick 24 hours.

The Jaguars need to take care of business on Thursday Night Football against the Baltimore Ravens before they do anything else. The Jaguars are big favorites against a third-string undrafted free agent at quarterback, however, and they should be 6-2 by the end of the night if they are the team they have shown to be.

If/when the Jaguars make it to Friday with another win, they can turn their focus completely to the trade deadline, set for next Tuesday. With obvious needs at a few positions on defense and the never-ending speculation on Brian Thomas Jr., the trade deadline could prove to be eventful for Jacksonville for a few reasons.

Could one of those reasons be in part due to the Jaguars' schedule, though? With the Jaguars playing on Thursday Night Football, they could get a window to attack the trade deadline that other teams have used in recent seasons.

The Jaguars Trade Window

With the Jaguars playing on Thursday night, they can get a few days head start on the deadline. Most moves happen between the end of Sunday's games and the day of the deadline each season, which means that any previous trade movements in the weeks ahead typically do not mean much when it comes to how much action there is on the actual deadline.

In short, deadlines force moves. With this being the final week of games before the deadline, this is the week where many teams have to make decisions to either address their needs toward a playoff push or start selling off roster pieces in a lost season. We have seen each happen over the last two seasons.

In four of the last five seasons, teams playing on Thursday Night Football ended up making deals at the deadline after playing on Thursday. Sometimes, like in 2022 with the Ravens, it was a blockbuster in the form of adding Roquan Smith. Sometimes like last season, it was the Dolphins dealing Jaelan Phillips after falling to 2-7 following a Thursday Night loss to ... the Ravens.

This is not to say we should look too deeply into the trend, but it is worth noting that teams who play on Thursday at least get clarity a bit earlier than the other 28 teams that are set to play before the trade deadline on Tuesday. There are a few teams among those 28 who are worth watching, too.

Could the Arizona Cardinals go into sell mode if a loss to the Seattle Seahawks on the road drops them to 3-6? They have pieces at EDGE, defensive tackle, and safety. The same goes for the Los Angeles Chargers, who would drop to 0-8 with a loss to the Houston Texans. Perhaps the team worth watching the most is the Philadelphia Eagles, who would be 2-7 with a loss to the New York Giants, which could make them more inclined to move a piece like Moro Ojomo.

The Jaguars can underline their targets and know exactly what and who they need a few days earlier than the rest of these teams, especially when it comes to taking a look at their run defense without Davon Hamilton. The Jaguars feel like a real candidate to make a move over the next week, and Thursday could prove to be a big piece of the equation.