JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Monday was the first time that Dante Fowler Jr. was back on the field for the Jaguars. After tearing his ACL on the first day of rookie minicamp a year ago, Fowler has been looking forward to this day and feels like he’s getting back to his normal self.
"It was good to get through a practice and not have everybody worried,” said Fowler who missed all of last season.
The Jaguars are counting on Fowler to provide a pass rush from the edge. Getting back on the field during Organized Team Activities was just the next step in his development. Gus Bradley said that they’re going to be cautious with Fowler and will monitor the number of repetitions he receives. But if you ask Fowler he’s ready to go.
“I can turn it loose,” said Fowler. “I felt pretty good and was able to turn the corner. That was my biggest concern coming into today’s practice and I felt pretty good.”
All of the veterans were present and accounted for on the first day of OTA’s. These workouts are technically voluntary but Gus Bradley feels this shows the commitment level of his players.
“It’s awesome, our guys are great like that,” said Bradley.
While all of the veterans were present the same can’t be said for the Jaguars 2016 rookie draft class. Only four the Jaguars seven draft picks from the 2016 draft were on the field Monday. Jalen Ramsey is still waiting for a second opinion regarding the meniscus tear in his right knee and Myles Jack is finishing his semester at UCLA.
The Jaguars seventh-round selection, defensive end Jonathan Woodard injured his Achilles in Phase 2 on-field workouts and the team announced that he has already had surgery to repair the injury. He will be placed on the team’s PUP (physical unable to perform list) and will likely miss the majority of the 2016 season.
The Jaguars also announced that offensive lineman Luke Bowanko recently had hip surgery and he has also been placed on the PUP list. Also tight end Nic Jacobs has a broken hand.