JACKSONVILLE — The Jaguars will open the 2026 regular season with a question mark at right tackle after Head Coach Liam Coen said projected starter Cole Van Lanen is a game-time decision for Sunday’s 1 p.m. kickoff against the Cleveland Browns at EverBank Stadium.
Van Lanen, who sustained a season-ending knee injury in Week 18 last season, missed the offseason and spent much of training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list. He was listed as limited on Wednesday’s first official injury report. Coen said he wants Van Lanen to prove he can handle game conditions before clearing him.
“You want to be able to get him some work, get him some reps, get him feeling confident in a game-like setting,” Coen said. Van Lanen called his status “day by day” and said the rehab process has been methodical. “It’s been really good — slowly but surely adding reps,” Van Lanen said. “Things have been going smooth. Everything’s just: A little more load, see how it feels, a little more load.” If Van Lanen cannot go, sixth-year veteran Walker Little, who has started 39 games at various positions for the Jaguars, will start at right tackle.
The opener pits a Jacksonville team that went 13-4 and won the AFC South championship in 2025 against a Cleveland squad that finished 5-12. The Jaguars won nine of their final 10 games last season and ranked second in the NFL in victories against playoff teams. Coen, entering his second year as head coach, said the continuity gives him more confidence in the operation than he had a year ago.
“You’re settled a little bit more in terms of the operation, the weekly schedule, the rhythm, the routine, the game management aspect of it, and trusting and knowing the guys that you’ve hired,” Coen said. “I do think that you have a routine in place that we feel has worked.”
Still, Coen acknowledged unknowns on both sides. The Browns overhauled their roster and coaching staff, with former Jaguars assistant Todd Monken entering his first season as Cleveland’s head coach and first-time defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg replacing Jim Schwartz. Limited tape on Rutenberg’s scheme cuts both ways, Coen said. “You’re always a little bit … I don’t want to say at a disadvantage because we’re all very even in terms of going into Week One,” he said. “We could have wrinkles obviously that they’re not aware of that we didn’t put on tape last year. But we’re kind of going in a little bit more blind than maybe they are.”
Coen made clear the urgency of setting an early tone for a team with championship expectations. “It’s wild to say that we’re here. It’s here, it’s now, we want to try to stay in the moment, but it’s important to have a fast start and to set the tone of kind of how you want these guys to play,” he said. “The result, obviously, we have to see a new 2026 Jacksonville Jaguars team; those results, I’m unsure of.”
Also on Wednesday’s injury report, wide receiver Jakobi Meyers was listed as limited with a thumb injury but said he will play Sunday. Running back LeQuint Allen Jr. did not practice due to a hip injury. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at EverBank Stadium.