Former Tennessee Vols quarterback Joey Aguilar is likely in line to receive some bad news next week.

And it’s not entirely his fault.

ESPN’s Michael DiRocco doesn’t have Aguilar making the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 53-man roster, despite the former Vol’s strong play in a preseason game against the Carolina Panthers last weekend (130 passing yards and a touchdown).

That’s not entirely surprising as most NFL teams opt to keep only two quarterbacks on the active roster, and the Jaguars’ top two quarterbacks on the depth chart are clearly Trevor Lawrence and veteran journeyman Nick Mullens (20 career starts).

DiRocco, however, feels like third-year quarterback Carter Bradley, the son of former Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley (who is currently the Tennessee Titans’ defensive coordinator), is the No. 3 quarterback on Jacksonville’s depth chart and will likely head to the practice squad over Aguilar.

“Carter Bradley, son of former head coach Gus Bradley, likely heads to practice squad and might get a chance to compete to be Lawrence’s backup in 2027,” wrote DiRocco.

NFL teams rarely keep two quarterbacks on the practice squad.

It feels like it was going to be Carter Bradley over Joey Aguilar no matter what

Aguilar clearly outplayed Bradley in the Jaguars’ loss to the Panthers (Bradley completed just 6-of-13 passes for 51 yards and an interception), but it sounds like that performance isn’t going to help the former Vol earn a spot in Jacksonville’s future plans.

This really feels like a situation where it was always going to be Bradley, who went to high school in Jacksonville, over Aguilar — no matter what happened in preseason action.

Bradley is the son of a longtime NFL coach, and that matters in the tight-knit NFL world. That’s not to discount Bradley’s talent, but it was always going to be a huge mountain to climb for Aguilar to pass him on the depth chart.

Aguilar should get a chance to land on another team’s practice squad (if this situation plays out as expected), but it’s clear he will have to go above and beyond to prove himself as a viable quarterback option in the NFL.

Of course, that won’t scare Aguilar — he’s been dealing with adversity since his high school days when he was barely recruited.