By Don Coble, Jax Sports News
JACKSONVILLE (www.thefloridasportswire.com) – The work never ends for Travon Walker because there is no finish line to perfection.
After spending the morning at the Jaguars’ preseason training camp, he spends the afternoons watching tape from the practice. Play, stop, rewind. Play after play, Walker knows seeing is believing.
“Just coming out of a practice like this or something, I will go in the film room and just say, for instance, we’re back on the field tomorrow or something, if I feel like I really need to emphasize something from the day before during the next day,” the sixth-year defensive end said. “Then I’ll put forth the effort to work on whatever that is. But I’m always trying to iron out something, for sure.
“You’re always going to see different things. You can go watch the same film, just say for instance, we practice Monday, say you go back and it’s Wednesday, you go back to that Monday tape, you might see something that you maybe didn’t pick up on as far as a small little step or something like that.”
The 6-foot-5, 272-pound player from Georgia suffered a broken wrist on Sept. 28 that required surgery. Then he sustained a severe knee injury later in the season.
The broken wrist affected his grip and pass-rushing abilities. The knee problem forced him to wear a bulky brace that further hampered his agility. Those injuries also affected his statistics. He had 61 tackles, including 10.5 sacks in 2024, but those numbers dropped to 38 tackles with just 3.5 sacks a year ago.
In what could only be described as a leap of faith, Jacksonville rewarded Walker with a four-year, $110 million extension in April, with $77 million being guaranteed.
After six days of camp, including sessions on Monday and Tuesday in full pads, said he’s pleased with his progress.
“Obviously, you’re going to have those ebbs and flows throughout camp days, and you’re going to win reps, you’re going to lose some reps, but I mean, it’s all a part of camp,” Walker said. “You’re here to get better. [I’m] definitely comfortable, for sure. And as far as seeing a difference, obviously, from last year, I had an injury, so I was playing through some things. Now I’m just getting back into that rhythm that I left off at.”
Players will take Wednesday off before returning to the Miller Electric Center on Thursday for an 8:30 a.m. workout.
For the first time in nearly a year, fans will see Walker back at full speed.
“Even you watch him in the individual work, doing the run game stuff and trying to be super intentional about everything he does,” said defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile. “I see that stuff showing up in the practice. And then in the pass rush, he’s looked really, really good this camp. So, I think he’s improved a bunch even from where we were here last spring.”
Like everyone else in camp, Walker isn’t concerned that so-called football experts believe last year’s 13-4 regular season record and AFC South championship was a fluke. Oddsmakers set the number of expected wins for the new year at 8.5.
“Man, I’ve been here five years. Throughout those five years, we’ve had some ups and downs,” he said. “When I first came in, we made a playoff run, even though we didn’t go deep. “We’re not worried about anything in the past. We’re just steadily trying to continuously improve every day. That’s the main goal. We’re not dwelling on anything.”
Except getting better, which will always be a work in progress.
Quotables
Defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile said he’s not afraid to pull his punches when he talks to someone, saying: “I believe in being honest and even what anybody perceives as a great day isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. You’ve got to tell the truth, and you’ve got to see around corners and see what the problems lying ahead are.”
Short yardage
• Defense ruled Day 6 of training camp on Tuesday. Interceptions by Eric Murray, Jarrian Jones and Antonio Jones increased the number of interceptions to nine for the Jaguars. Jacksonville’s defense only gave up two touchdowns in 10 plays from the 5-yard line.
• The team kept free agent running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. from practicing as part of its plan to bring him back slowly following foot surgery in the offseason.
• Arik Armstead was given a veteran’s day off, while linebacker Jared Bartlett was carted off the field after suffering a leg injury. Barlett was signed on Monday to replace Jack Kiser, who suffered a leg injury on the first day of camp.
