JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Doug Marrone said that patience is the word that he’s getting across during training camp.
With so many players landing on the newly established reserve/COVID-19 list, Marrone is learning a good bit of that himself during this challenging 2020, and said that it’s a process that everyone has to go through together.
The Jaguars have had a league-high 12 players placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list since training camp began last week. Five players went on the list Sunday, including starting quarterback Gardner Minshew II. Tight end Charles Jones was placed on the list for the second time. Teams can’t reveal if a player tested positive for COVID-19 or if he was quarantining because he’d spent time around someone who was positive.
But the large number of players who have been placed on the list has brought up the question if the Jaguars, or the players, could do anything differently.
“I don’t think anyone’s being negligent. I don’t believe that,” he said. “… Everyone understands what’s at stake.”
The Jaguars coach said that in conversations with players, it’s all about keeping patient and making sure that rules and protocols are followed. Marrone said that if he didn’t feel safe, then he wouldn’t be coaching.
“There’s a lot of things that are going on, I think that’s why for me, and I’ve just been really trying to educate our players, so this way, you know, like I preach patience,” Marrone said.
“You know, ‘hey take a step back.’ Let’s make sure that we understand the protocols and why they’re in place and let’s get used to that. So I think there’s a lot of things and I think that, you know, we’re seeing those issues and we’re all learning from them and I think his learning process is going to be beneficial for us or to anyone else that’s out there during the season.”
Marrone was asked about the potential of keeping a quarterback in a quarantine role throughout the season or if he felt that players were doing anything to contribute to Jacksonville’s number of COVID-list players.
“If I didn’t feel good, I wouldn’t be here if I thought it was a high risk. I think that’s what a lot of us are going though. We’re looking at it, we appreciate the amount of work, the amount of time that that has been into these protocols that have been put in place for our safety,” Marrone said. “Even though that we understand that, there’s a risk, so you know each and every day you’ve got to evaluate that.”