JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two days before the vital third preseason game, Jaguars' head coach Doug Marrone said there are nine players who definitely won't play in the game due to injuries.
Wide receiver Marqise Lee, running back Alfred Blue, tight ends Geoff Swaim, Josh Oliver, and Charles Jones will be held out. On defense, injured linebackers Quincy Williams, Jake Ryan, Davis Tull, and defensive tackle Marcell Dareus will not play in Miami against the Dolphins.
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All of the players are working their way back from injuries. Dareus is the player with the most recent injury of the group. He has missed time this week with an elbow injury.
Marrone would not commit to a number of snaps for the starters, but all indications are that the starting offense and defense will see their first action as full units, minus injuries, on Thursday.
"We're going to go back in tonight and look at playing time and who we want playing and who we want to look at," Marrone said. "Special teams, there are still some spots. Making sure those players are getting enough reps in there. And then, obviously, the players that can play are actually going to play."
One of those players figures to be running back Leonard Fournette. Marrone said that the running back will play on Thursday but did not disclose how many touches he expects him to receive. Marrone does want to see how certain players respond to a game situation, not just the competition, but also the setting of a game.
"Just like all of you guys, I'm just anxious and curious to see what we're doing well and there are probably a lot of things we're going to need to work on before the season starts," Marrone said. "It’s just preparation. You want to get their minds right. You want to get them ready to go. You want the butterflies before the game [which] a lot of time it’s very hard to get during the practice or anything of that nature."
The expectation is that quarterback Nick Foles will see his first action in a preseason game, which has created anticipation from fans, coaches and players.
"We put the time in, we put the work in," wide receiver Dede Westbrook said. "It's going to be fun to go out there and see us perform at a high level."