Trevor Lawrence could see the field Friday night when the Jaguars host the Panthers, with Liam Coen signaling that Jacksonville is “trending toward” giving its starters some work in the preseason matchup.
Coen said Monday that the plan is to get Lawrence and other key players on the field “a little bit” as the team continues sorting through the limited practice time left before the regular season. He pointed to the Jaguars’ recent workload as part of the reason.
“So that’s the goal right now, is to look at potentially playing [Lawrence] a little Friday night,” Coen said Monday, via transcript from the team. “You just look at the amount of padded days that we actually have left until the game week and it’s very few and far between. So, you set a schedule, you set it, and you’re like, well, timing and circumstances, things change and when you have to pivot a little bit.
“I think we need a little bit more work in terms of coming off of the Saints joint [practice] and the Saints game, I think we just need a little bit more padded work against each other, good on good. Can’t really do it today. We had to pivot a little bit, so would like to maybe see these guys Friday night go out there and get a couple drives potentially, and that’ll also help alleviate some of the depth, as you mentioned, to get some of these guys some work, knowing that I’m not playing them in [preseason] Week 3.”
Jacksonville’s preseason opener on Saturday was started by Nick Mullens, but Coen said Mullens is now dealing with an undisclosed injury that will impact his availability this week. The Jaguars are handling that situation carefully, and Coen said Mullens might be able to practice Wednesday if he feels better.
“He got kind of dinged in the game, so just trying to let it slow down, let it chill out, and give these other guys some reps too,” Coen said, noting that they’re being precautionary with Mullens. “We got to get Carter [Bradley] and Joey [Aguilar] some more reps, and when Nick’s able to go, we’ll get him back out there.”
The Jaguars are set to face the Panthers on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. ET.
In Other News...
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At tight end, Darren Waller is still at the bottom of the chart for now because he has not yet played or practiced, which leaves his spot more about timing than evaluation at this stage. Elsewhere, Princely Umanmielen has turned in a solid run in a starting role, but he has not yet pushed past the current starter opposite Jaelan Phillips, a reminder that early preseason momentum does not always translate directly into a move up the board. [Read more 🡒]
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Panthers Send A Clear Bryce Young Message In New Mock Draft
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For a team that has spent plenty of time under the microscope at the games most important position, the bigger takeaway is what the mock leaves out. Even with a deep class of quarterbacks available later in the round, Carolina does not come off this projection looking like a club in a hurry to replace Young or force the issue early. Instead, the message is one of patience and roster construction, with the Panthers betting their next major swing should come on the edge rather than under center. [Read more 🡒]