JACKSONVILLE — Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen announced the 2025 AFC South champions will hold all starters out of Saturday’s preseason opener against the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome, citing mounting offensive line injuries that have thinned the roster through Day 11 of training camp.

“Not in [Preseason] Week 1, for sure,” Coen said after practice. “Where we are at right now, especially from a health standpoint, we can’t really afford to go into a game and let them roll and see what that would look like from an injury standpoint. It is a more controlled setting.”

Coen said front-line players will instead get their competitive work in Thursday’s joint practice against the Saints, where contact is limited to thudding rather than full tackling. “It’s a controlled environment that you’re still getting physical work, but you’re thudding; you’re not tackling to the ground,” he said. “Not as many blind shots and hits that guys maybe are not going to see.”

The decision is driven largely by an offensive line that lost four players from team drills — starting guard Ezra Cleveland, tackle Walker Little, guard Patrick Mekari and guard Emmanuel Pregnon. Projected starting tackle Cole Van Lanen has been on the Physically Unable to Perform list since the start of camp with a knee injury. Anton Harrison worked at left tackle, Robert Hainsey at center, Jonah Monheim at left guard for Cleveland, Wyatt Milum at right guard for Mekari and Chuma Edoga at right tackle.

“You just get thin; you get thin,” Coen said. “You start putting more reps on other guys that may not be truly prepared for the amount of reps that they then have to take. Your twos are moreso mixed of threes and fours and it just kind of gets a little bit thinned out, unfortunately.” He added: “Thankfully we haven’t had a ton of big, big ones, right? Knock on wood. It’s just these are the times of the year it happens, it occurs.”

Jacksonville plans to follow the same joint-practice-over-game-reps approach for its final two preseason games against the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, both of which will be played in Jacksonville. “You practice against pros that know how to practice, and you’re doing it with coaches that stress the same things of taking care of one another and let’s be pros about this,” Coen said.

The defense delivered a strong showing in the starters’ absence from live game prep. “I thought the defense came out with more energy and better mindset and mentality,” Coen said. “They kind of took the fight to us, to the offense in the run game today.” Linebacker Dennis Gardeck echoed his coach: “That’s just who we are as a defense. It’s not anything we’re trying to do. It’s who we are. We have a bunch of physical, ready-from-the-jump guys.”

On offense, wide receiver Parker Washington connected with quarterback Trevor Lawrence on a deep pass down the left sideline against cornerback Travis Hunter, continuing a strong camp. Wide receiver Jakobi Meyers added a diving reception during the third-down period, and Coen singled out cornerback Jabbar Muhammad as one of the team’s most-improved players after a pass breakup and near-interception.

The Jaguars hold their joint practice against the Saints on Thursday before traveling to New Orleans for Saturday’s preseason opener.