The Jaguars turned up the heat on Tuesday in more ways than one.
Jacksonville practiced in a 93-degree Florida afternoon, dealt with a pair of skirmishes, and made a pre-practice roster move as the team moved closer to Thursday’s joint-practice debut against the New Orleans Saints. With the preseason opener set for Saturday, Liam Coen also made it clear that most of the familiar faces won’t be seeing much, if any, action.
Coen said he does not expect to see many starters on the field against the Saints after the joint practices wrap up. The plan is for the ones and twos to handle most of the work, while the veterans are held back after getting their main reps Thursday.
Grant Udinski is set to be the primary play caller on Saturday, and Coen said that will give him more freedom to handle defensive updates, conversations, and challenge-flag decisions. Coen also addressed the challenge Udinski faces in calling plays for a roster dealing with injury-related numbers issues up front at offensive line.
The day got chippy, too. One altercation involved DJ Dallas and included a small punch before it was broken up.
Another, more heated exchange featured Jabbar Muhammad and Parker Washington, and it took four players to separate them. With joint practices coming, the edge made sense.
Jacksonville also made a move at linebacker, signing Amari Burney and waiving cornerback Keni-L Lovely. Burney, 26, spent two seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders and played in 24 games with one start.
He finished with 27 tackles, five special-teams tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack, and a forced fumble. He also was a teammate of Ventrell Miller’s at Florida.
The signing comes after last Thursday’s addition of Jahlani Tavai, giving the linebacker group more depth. Parker Hughes is still viewed as a small-school developmental piece, while Jack Kiser is working back from injury, so that room’s path to the final 53 remains worth watching.
Up front, the Jaguars are still juggling bodies and combinations. Patrick Mekari remains limited to minimal team work, Cole Van Lanen is on the PUP, and Walker Little missed practice again after his mock scrimmage injury on Friday. Emmanuel Pregnon returned in limited fashion after being dressed but not doing much in teams on Sunday.
That left Jacksonville to keep experimenting along the offensive line, even more than it had on previous days. Recently signed tackle Geron Christian again got extended work at left tackle against the starting defense. Coen said the team needs more reps for a lot of its depth offensive linemen, especially with joint practices and Week 1 approaching and those players likely to be involved more.
The pass rush took advantage at times, with would-be sacks credited to Dennis Gardeck, BJ Green, and Travon Walker during team periods. With the line still trying to settle in, the Jaguars need that group to heal quickly and get on the same page before the opener.
Because of the line situation, the offense leaned more heavily into the run game on Tuesday. Coen highlighted Albert Regis and Arik Armstead, and said Regis showed clear progress after what he called a recent acclimation period.
By the end of practice, the defense had clearly won the day. Coen said the session was cut short because of the defense’s dominant performance, though the line issues likely played a part in that as well.
The most notable offensive play belonged to Trevor Lawrence and Parker Washington. Lawrence hit Washington on a deep ball down the sideline for a gain of about 40 to 45 yards. Washington beat Travis Hunter off the line, stacked him, and finished the play with strong hands.
Hunter had a mixed day overall. He had a chance at a difficult one-handed catch in the seventh period, but the ball fell incomplete.
It wasn’t clear whether he eased up to avoid contact with a nearby defender, but the attempt ended with just one hand in the air. He did settle in later with a few shorter catches.
The cornerback competition also stayed active. Christian Braswell made a strong last-second pass breakup against Brady Boyd early in practice, tracking the ball with his back to the quarterback.
A few reps later, Jabbar Muhammad answered with a PBU of his own while covering Michael Wortham. Both players stood out and may be battling for the same roster spot.
The Jaguars will hold a walkthrough Wednesday before heading to New Orleans for Thursday’s joint practice with the Saints, then they’ll move on to Saturday’s preseason Week 1 matchup.
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