JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jaguars are down to their final stretch of training camp, but several very important practices remain. The first of those comes Wednesday morning when the Carolina Panthers join the Jaguars for joint practices ahead of Friday’s second preseason game.
The next wave comes during the last leg of camp when Tampa Bay visits for two days of joint practices next week before the preseason finale. NFL teams have used the joint practices in lieu of extended playing time for starters in preseason games.
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Jacksonville head coach Liam Coen said this week that he was leaning toward playing his starters in Friday night’s preseason game, but a good day of work on Wednesday – and the growing injury list – could alter those plans.
“Yeah, I think it definitely is important, because you could try to simulate whatever you want or you could think of in a practice, but I think, like you said, live bullets flying, we have to react fast. It’s not a walkthrough anymore,” running back Bhayshul Tuten said of the joint practice. “You have to go and I think that’s the best thing that we need coming into Sundays.”
Jacksonville’s injury situation (see below) has become particularly notable this week, and one of those could open up a less rugged path to the 53-man roster for running back J’Mari Taylor. He’s coming off a very solid performance in the 24-20 preseason-opening win over the Saints. Taylor had 78 yards on 22 carries and scored the winning touchdown on a 1-yard run.
“Body’s sore a little bit but that’s how running back is when you get 22 carries,” Taylor said. “What’s crazy is I didn’t think I had 22 carries. When I seen that after the game, I was like, ‘oh man, 22 carries, back to college [workload], man, back to college.’ But this is the pros now. It was very fun though.”
With LeQuint Allen Jr. out for the remainder of training camp with a lower body injury, Taylor could see his workload jump over that span. The undrafted free agent out of Virginia said that he’s been leaning on the veterans in the running back room (Chris Rodriguez Jr., Ameer Abdullah, Deejay Dallas) to get better and better.
“Continue to do what I’m doing now. Take advantage of the opportunity and stay consistent. Staying in the playbook. Asking coaches and teammates for everything that I can ask them for,” Taylor said. “I’d be crazy not to take advantage of everything.”
QB tracker:
Trevor Lawrence: 7 for 14.
Nick Mullens: 9 for 11.
Carter Bradley: 0 for 1.
RB tracker:
Tuten: One carry with Trevor Lawrence.
Rodriguez: Five carries all with Lawrence.
Taylor: Three carries all with Mullens.
Deejay Dallas: Two carries. One with Mullens and one with Aguilar.
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Notebook
- Patrick Mekari’s injury report is accurate; he had back surgery, but no determination has been made about placing him on what would be season-ending injured reserve.
- LeQuint Allen Jr.: has a soft tissue injury and will miss the rest of camp.
- Parker Washington is day-to-day but will return next week.
- Wyatt Milum is day-to-day but will return next week.
- Injuries are stacking up, but overall, nothing too major. The biggest concern is still the offensive line and finding the right five.
- The offensive line rotation was back in full swing. Today, the main combo had Emmanuel Pregnon at left guard with Ezra Cleveland at right guard and Walker Little back in action at right tackle.
- Liam Coen said on Monday he was considering playing the starters on Friday. In my opinion, with the health of the offensive line as it is, I wouldn’t put Trevor Lawrence out there. Juice doesn’t seem worth the squeeze.
Four players to watch Wednesday
With the Panthers coming to town for a day of joint practice Wednesday, here are four guys who need to have a good day:
- Walker Little: He has more on the line than anyone. Little had a rough start to camp but now looks to be back healthy. If he doesn’t show he can be one of the Jaguars’ best six linemen, then he won’t be long for Jacksonville.
- Branson Combs: Right now, Combs is playing behind Ventrell Miller. If he is going to make a move for the starting job this is the time to do it. During the preseason game, Combs was a little passive in the way he played the run. If he can show some more aggressiveness in the run game to go with his skill in pass coverage he could take that job.
- Bhayshul Tuten: The fantasy football community should keep an eye on the Jags backfield over the next few weeks. With LeQuint Allen sidelined, this could be Tuten’s chance to show he can be effective in the pass game and pass protection. If Tuten can earn that role it would give him a stranglehold on the Jags backfield.
- Nick Mullens: Backup quarterback play was not good during the preseason games. Mullens is the best of the rest, but does that mean they couldn’t look outside the building for an upgrade?