By Don Coble, Jax Sports News
JACKSONVILLE (www.jacksonvillesportsday.com) – Hours before Friday night’s preseason kickoff with the Carolina Panthers, Jaguars head coach Liam Coen still hadn’t revealed his game plan for how much, or if how many, starters would see action.
Not only did none of the first-string players appear in Jacksonville’s 34-17 loss, Coen said his first-line players will also skip the preseason finale on Friday, Aug. 28.
While he said there’s a need for starters to gain cohesiveness, the objective has been difficult during training camp with so many injuries, especially along the offensive line.
“It’s no secret: we’re a little nicked up, and we need the guys that have set the tone for us and physically set a tone to do that now, right?” Coen said following Thursday’s joint practice session with Carolina. “Trust us and trust that, yeah, we kind of have — I don’t want to call it a sickness, but we’ve got a little bit of some guys banged up.
“But trust that, hey, the practice schedule, the way it’s set up, like, we’re going to protect you and take care of you. But when we go, we got to go.”
Jacksonville made several moves this week to shore up the offensive line. It signed lineman Timothy McKay on Monday and traded for lineman Daniel Faalele from the New York Giants on Wednesday for a sixth-round draft pick in 2027.
On Thursday, McKay was waived and the team announced left tackle Cole Van Lanen was being moved from the Physically Unable to Perform list to the active roster. Van Lanen injured his knee in Week 18 – days after signing a three-year, $51 million contract extension – last season and was recently cleared to return to full contact.
Instead of scrambling to create a patchwork lineup, Jacksonville hopes to have options up front. Van Lanen could return to left tackle, which would allow Anton Harrison to move back to his familiar role as the right tackle. Or the Jaguars could use a three-tackle rotation with Ezra Cleveland, who’s been used at both guards and one tackle spot in camp.
Van Lanen’s return comes after tackle Chuma Edoga hurt his lower back on the first play of the first preseason game at New Orleans.
Linemen Jonah Monheim, Geron Christian, Wyatt Milium, Patrick Mekari, Robert Hainsey, Emmanuel Pregnon, Cleveland, Harrison, Van Lanen and Faalele were all were benched for the Panthers game.
Coen said adding Faalele provides the Jaguars some much-needed depth.
“[We’re] just continuing to bring depth and guys that have played meaningful reps in this league. That’s something that you can’t have enough of,” he said. “We came into the camp with 16 and got down to about nine the other day. And when you have some of those things occur, and you want to continue to find guys that have done it, guys that have played in this league at a high level.”
Lawrence, running backs LeQuint Allen Jr., Chris Rodriguez and Bhayshul Tutten and wide receivers Parker Washington, Jakobi Meyers and Brian Thomas Jr. also watched from the sideline.
Travis Hunter, who’s scheduled to start at cornerback and get some work at wide receiver, didn’t play. Apparently his first game-speed reps after returning from knee surgery after Week 7 a year ago will come in the regular season opener against Cleveland on Sunday, Sept. 13.
Backup quarterback Nick Mullens started and played the first two series. He was six of seven for 65 yards. Receivers Pena (four catches for 72 yards and a 29-yard touchdown), CJ Williams (four catches for 22 yards), Michael Wortham (3-41) and Ameer Abdullah (3-37) all had big nights. All, except Abdullah, are trying to win the battle as the team’s final receiver.
Abdullah also had 45 yards rushing on six carries.
Coen said he was impressed with Abdullah’s running, especially since the Jaguars said Allen will miss the rest of training camp with a soft tissue injury.
“I thought he showed up tonight, and it’s what we’ve seen in practice,” Coen said of the 12th-year veteran. “You talk about a pro’s pro, a guy who does everything right. He’s one of the first guys in the building, along with Parker [Washington]. He takes care of himself, treats himself right in terms of his body and getting his mind right for practice every day. And he was able to show up tonight and look a little better than everyone else.”
Up next
Jacksonville was off on Saturday, but the players will return to Miller Electric Center on Sunday to start preparing for joint practices with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Tuesday and Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. The regular season will wrap up against the Bucs at EverBank Stadium on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
