JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jaguars closed one chapter of training camp and turned an eye to the future.
Jacksonville wrapped up its training camp at Episcopal’s Knight Sports Complex on Thursday as it prepares for its home preseason finale against the Steelers on Saturday night. Next week’s training camp practices will be joint workouts with the Falcons in Atlanta before ending the week with the final exhibition game of the season.
This week’s work for the starters will be their most thorough of the preseason.
Coach Doug Pederson said that he wants to see the starting offense and defense play most, if not at all, of the opening half. That’s a major jump in snaps for all of the No. 1 players. The starters played essentially three series apiece last week against the Browns. Both sides of the ball were sharp, jumping to a 13-0 lead before backups allowed 24 unanswered points.
“From a playing standpoint, I definitely want to see the starters go into the second quarter again this week,” he said. “The defense needs to be on the field a little bit more. They’ve played well the first two games, they just haven’t played enough. So, I definitely want to see them play a little bit more.”
Linebacker Travon Walker, the team’s No. 1 overall draft pick, said more playing time is essential for the defense. He’s coming off two very good performances (a sack against the Raiders and in on a forced fumble against the Browns) but all of that work was been on very limited snaps
“Definitely, just to get the chemistry down especially amongst the front seven with two things we do up front, and I definitely think that it’s going to play a big part with the transition going into the regular season,” Walker said.
For the Jaguars, it also ends their camp at Episcopal. The team was forced to move camp this year due to construction on its new Miller Electric Center. It is expected to open next summer.
“My hat’s off to Episcopal for letting us come out here and invade their space a little bit. Also, to our grounds crew to put these fields down and really a lot of work and a lot of man-hours went into getting us over here from the busses every day, just the timing of everything,” Pederson said. “I just can’t say enough good things about this situation. The guys have really enjoyed it, getting away from our building a little bit and outside. It’s been really good, and we’ve been really fortunate to have this.”
Notebook
- The Jaguars had a special guest at camp on their final day at Episcopal — Maurice Bones-Drew, a seven-month old golden retriever. Bones-Drew was named by fans during a contest in early June. He’s in training with K9s For Warriors to be a service dog for for military veterans. Mojo was a star attraction at camp, with numerous players stopping to pay him a few head pats before they boarded the team buses to go back to TIAA Bank Field.
- Also at camp was former Englewood and Jacksonville University baseball star Daniel Murphy. Murph played 12 years in the big leagues and was a three-time all-star selection. He announced his retirement in 2021.
- The Jaguars are still playing it safe with cornerback Darious Williams. The big-ticket free agent signee remains limited as he recovers from offseason shoulder surgery. Pederson said that Williams is getting closer to a return but won’t play this week against the Steelers.
- Same thing with running back James Robinson, who is being eased back into practice at a steady pace. Robinson suffered a torn Achilles last year and has been involved throughout camp. He’s just not a full-go yet. Pederson said that there’s hope that Robinson is ready for Week 1 at Washington.
- Offensive linemen Will Richardson and Bradara Traore will also miss the game against the Steelers.
- Ben Bartch got more first-team reps at left guard on Thursday. It’s the second day in a row that he’s worked with the No. 1s.
- One day after the offense struggled under the intense heat, things flowed better. Trevor Lawrence had a bounceback day under center. He had touchdown passes to Marvin Hall, Christian Kirk and Zay Jones during one stretch that were razor-sharp throws. Hall’s catch over Shaquill Griffin in the right back corner of the end zone was arguably the best contested catch of the day. Marvin Jones had a great snag, too, on the opposite sideline.
- Tight ends Dan Arnold and Evan Engram both made impressive sideline grabs Thursday, with Engram’s an acrobatic snag that he managed to control before heading out of bounds.