By Don Coble, Florida Sports Wire
JACKSONVILLE (www.jaxsportsnews.com)– The return of running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. will be slow and calculated, Jacksonville head coach Liam Coen said moments after the Jaguars wrapped their first workout of training camp Wednesday.
And that’s fine with the only free agent signed in the offseason.
After suffering a left foot injury on the first day of offseason training in July that required surgery, the 5-foot-11, 224-pound star from Kentucky was targeted by Jacksonville for his toughness in short-yard and goal line situations.
He spent the rest of summer rehabilitating at the Jaguars’ complex before being cleared for preseason camp. While he participated in individual drills, he remained on the sidelines during group activities.
Coen said he will be careful with Rodriguez, who was signed away from the Washington Commanders after Travis Etienne Jr. bolted to New Orleans in free agency.
“It’s fine to get back without any sort of hiccups or more bumps,” Coen said, “and it was great to just see him back out, like taking handoffs, right? I mean, it’s a small sample size, but I was pleased to see him out here with us.”
When asked how Jacksonville’s training camp compared to Washington, Rodriguez said Coen set a different tone before all 90 players were on the field at the Miller Electric Center.
“He walks in the room, and first thing he kind of like said was, ‘This is how we’re going to do things.’ Just his tone of voice, it makes you want to work for him.”
Rodriguez is eager to stay the course with Jacksonville’s preseason plan to slowly work him back into the lineup.
“Someone still has to be the first running back on the field in the [regular season-opening] Browns game,” he said. “So, regardless of what the coaches have planned, if I’m a starter, if I’m second, third string, whatever it is, you know, I’m just preparing like I am the starter. At that time, that means that I’m the starter, (2:04) and I’ll be ready to go.”
Coen said the team has a plan to limit his participation until the team starts contact drills.
“The best of C-Rod will not be seen until the pads come on, and we play tackle,” he said.
Despite gaining 10 pounds during rehab, Rodriguez appeared to be quicker, Coen said.
“When you put on 10 pounds of muscle – he made the comment to me on the grass the other day that he feels when he’s running. He feels lighter,” the coach said. “So, you put on 10 pounds of muscle, he feels lighter. I mean, that’s a good thing.”
Quotable:
Coen said the team wants to build on last year’s 13-4 regular season record and AFC South Championship. “Last year was about finding an edge and creating an edge,” he said. “And now we are attacking these edges with a relentless pursuit. At the end of the day, we know we want to go play anywhere, anytime, anybody, it doesn’t matter. Our mindset is, we got to go prove it and go earn it, because consistency is the truest measure of performance at the end of the day.”
Short yardage:
- Travis Hunter rejoined the team for the first time since suffering a knee injury after the seventh game last year. In addition to being a part of individual drills on both offense and defense, he was in on eight defensive team snaps and four on offense. He tipped the only ball thrown to him, and he had a break-up of a pass thrown to Jacobi Meyers.
- Catch of the day belonged to CJ Williams, who made a fingertip, sliding grab of a Nick Mullens pass. That earned a rousing roar of approval from about 500 fans who attended the first session. The second-best catch was by tight end Brenton Strange, who came up with the ball after it bounced off the hands of two defenders.
- Those same fans moaned when Mullens dropped an easy throw over the middle from quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
- The only noticeable injury was to linebacker Jack Kiser. He collapsed on the first 11-on-11 play with a leg injury. Coen said Kiser would get an MRI late Wednesday.
