JACKSONVILLE — Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen said he is “trending towards us potentially playing Friday night a little bit with the ones,” signaling that starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence and other front-line players will see their first preseason action this week against the Carolina Panthers at EverBank Field.
“That’s the goal right now, is to look at potentially playing [starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence and other front-line players] a little Friday night,” Coen said after a two-hour Day 14 practice at the Miller Electric Center. Lawrence and the starters sat out the Jaguars’ 24-20 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Saturday, and Coen said the team needs more meaningful reps before the regular season.
The decision came after Coen was forced to adjust his practice plan, cutting short a full-pads session because of depth issues at offensive line and linebacker. “It’s a little frustrating that you have to pivot a little bit,” Coen said. “The goal was to go full pads all day and get a good bang workday. It’s a little annoying we couldn’t do that, but that’s the job.”
Coen said starters are not expected to play in the preseason finale against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Aug. 28, making Friday’s game the primary live evaluation window. “You just look at the amount of padded days that we actually have left until the game week and it’s very few and far between,” Coen said. A joint practice with the Panthers is scheduled for Wednesday, with two more joint sessions against the Buccaneers next week.
Second-year wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter, who worked mostly on defense during the session, said coaches demanded a higher intensity level. “Coaches got on us,” Hunter said. “We didn’t play as hard as they thought we should have been playing. So, our motto today was, just go be aggressive. Do everything we’re coaching you to do. Be rough, don’t sugarcoat anything. Don’t be buddy-buddy with the offense. Go out there and work. That’s what we tried to do today.”
Rookie wide receiver Josh Cameron, a sixth-round selection from Baylor, delivered the play of the day — a deep catch from Lawrence that would have been a 50-plus-yard touchdown. Fellow rookie wide receiver CJ Williams and veterans Brian Thomas Jr. and Parker Washington also made big receptions. Cornerback Montaric Brown recorded multiple pass breakups during 7-on-7 red-zone drills, and running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. picked up several chunk gains during the final padded period.
Right tackle Walker Little returned to individual drills after missing time. Among those who appeared out of practice: quarterback Nick Mullens, cornerback Jourdan Lewis, linebackers Jalen McLeod and Jack Kiser (knee), defensive end Zach Durfee, and offensive linemen Chuma Edoga, Ricky Lee, Geron Christian and Patrick Mekari. Offensive tackle Cole Van Lanen (knee) remained on the Physically Unable to Perform list. The Jaguars host the Panthers at EverBank Field on Friday.