Jags plan to host Bucs in practices; OTAs start
There’s nothing new about it, but Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson is excited nonetheless for the team to begin Phase 3 of the offseason program, the start of Organized Team Activities.
“It is good to be able to do a little competition and compete against each other, but within the rules. We got to make sure we protect each other. We just don’t want injuries,” Pederson said Monday, Jacksonville’s first day of OTAs.
The team is coming together, but nothing is set. It’s still early, Pederson emphasized.
“We’re still teaching and learning and developing and all of that, so I don’t really go into it with a lot of depth charts in mind. We’re trying to get everybody the opportunity to put them on film and see what we do have,” he said. That aspect of the offseason will come closer to the preseason and during training camp.
In a couple of months, when the team meets for the dog days of summer, they’ll do so with another team in mind. During Week 2 of the preseason, the Jaguars will host joint practices with the
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Jaguars have spent the last two years on the road for joint practices, so the change up to the Miller Electric Center will be nice.
The team will play the Bucs on Saturday, Aug. 17, with joint practice expected the week of.
Another aspect of this year’s schedule that bodes well for Jacksonville is their late-season bye week, Week 12. Though, Pederson would have liked it maybe a week or two before. There aren’t many complaints about the team’s schedule his season.
“It’s in a good position,” Pederson said of the bye week. “Other than the one Monday night game, (we have) all Sunday games and you get into a rhythm and a flow that way. But somewhere in there you do like the Thursday (Night Football game), even though we don’t have one.”
Pederson explained that teams enjoy the mini-bye week that comes with having a Thursday night game on the schedule. The team will head to London again to play back-to-back games.
Pederson said the team will stay in one location throughout the 10-day affair across the pond, a change from last year when the team stayed at two separate locations for their “home” and “away” games.
Observations: Jaguars kick off first day of OTAs
The Jaguars held a typical day of practice Monday with the team operating without pads and without any contact as permitted by the third phase of the offseason program.
Here are a few observations from Monday’s practice:
Trevor Lawrence worked the entire practice Monday without any issues with mobility or participation. He did just as much, if not more than he did late last season while dealing with injuries. Lawrence did not sport any