JACKSONVILLE – Luke Joeckel remains unable to practice full.
But the Jaguars rookie right tackle continues to progress from the hip flexor injury that sidelined him in the second preseason game – to the extent that he took his most extensive work of the week in practice Wednesday.
Joeckel, the No. 2 overall selection in the 2013 NFL Draft, worked in shoulder pads short and a helmet Tuesday, going through some pass-rushing drills on the side of practice along with defensive tackle Brandon Deaderick.
Deaderick has been out with a groin injury.
"They both felt really, really good yesterday," Bradley said Wednesday after a lightning-interrupted practice at the Florida Blue practice fields outside EverBank Field. "They took today and went through another set of routines for the 'return to play,' and then we'll reevaluate them."
Bradley said the pair could possibly practice Thursday, and he said he hadn't ruled out Joeckel playing against Philadelphia Saturday at EverBank Field.
Running back Maurice Jones-Drew, center Brad Meester and defensive tackle Roy Miller had veterans days off, with Joeckel, quarterback Blaine Gabbert (thumb) and tight end Marcedes Lewis the other starters not working.
Tight end Allen Reisner and guard Will Rackley returned to practice full after possible flu- and asthma-related symptoms Tuesday.
The threat of approaching lightning forced players and coaches from the field 20 minutes into practice, resulting in a 15-minute delay.
"I told the team it was a good day, not a great day," Bradley said. "I thought we were crisp in some areas, but it was the consistency we wanted to challenge our guys with. We did cut practice back a little bit. t had nothing to with the weather. We made the decision before to limit the number of plays and number of periods in an attempt to gain our legs and our freshness at this time in training camp."
The Jaguars are expected to have a walkthrough practice Wednesday evening, with a practice scheduled for the Florida Blue practice fields Thursday morning.
INJURY WATCH
Offensive tackle Mark Asper (knee) missed practice,as did running back Jordan Todman (hamstring) and cornerback Kevin Rutland (quadriceps). Deaderick (groin) remained out of practice, as did cornerback Jeremy Harris (back), running back Justin Forsett (toe) and tight end Isaiah Stanback (groin).
PLAY OF THE DAY
With practice shortened and a lot of game-planning for the Eagles Saturday, highlight plays were relatively rare on Wedneday.
But if one play stood out, it may have been when rookie safety Johnathan Cyprien stepped in front of a pass from veteran quarterback Mike Kafka. Cyprien appeared to read the pass perfectly, and came from well back in the secondary to step in front of the play for the interception.
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HIGHLIGHTS**
- Former Jaguars Owner Wayne Weaver attended practice with President Mark Lamping Wednesday. Weaver declined to speak formally to the media, but said he was proud of the team and said he liked how Gabbert played this past week.
- Bradley said the coaching staff slans to decide rotations for playing time against the Eagles on Wednesday night.
- Wide receiver Cecil Shorts III continued to look good in his return, making a nice back-shoulder reception from Chad Henne in team drills late in practice.
- Rookie cornerback Dwayne Gratz intercepted Henne early in practice.
- Second-year cornerback Mike Harris deflected a pass in team drills.
- Linebacker Brandon Marshall also deflected a pass in team drills.
LOOKING ON . . .
*Matt Scott continues to get extensive work in practice, and the injury to Gabbert without question gives the rookie free agent an opportunity. But that opportunity won't likely be to beat out Henne for the backup job. Gabbert's injury means Henne is working extensively with the ones, and in turn, it means Henne isn't working with the backups. That means Scott and Mike Kafka are getting a lot more repetitions with the reserves. That's giving Scott a lot of opportunity to show he can be a reliable third option and that he merits being on the roster. It wouldn't like mean he becomes the backup because it appears unlikely the team has any intention of parting ways with Henne.
