JACKSONVILLE – The Jaguars worked early, and that was cool.
And it indeed was cool on Day 1 of Jaguars 2019 Training Camp, relatively speaking, anyway – with the team working for about two hours, twenty minutes in temperatures in the low 80s. The Jaguars began practice at 8:40 a.m. Thursday, a schedule that is expected to be the norm during '19 camp.
The Jaguars worked without pads in non-contact work Thursday – and will do so again Friday and Saturday. The first padded, contact practice is Sunday morning.
Jaguars Head Coach Doug Marrone spoke to the media before practice, discussing the holdout of defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, the team placing weakside linebacker Telvin Smith on the Reserve/Retired list and Wednesday's high-profile arrival of cornerback Jalen Ramsey to camp. Also, quarterback Nick Foles met with the media after practice Thursday.
Coverage of those availabilities can be found throughout the day on jaguars.com.
Here's a look at Day 1 practice:
PLAY OF THE DAY
*The Jaguars practiced without pads on Day 1, so highlight plays in the non-contact work were minimal. The day's highlight play came late in practice, when rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew stepped up in the pocket and completed a deep pass 25 yards downfield to third-year wide receiver Keelan Cole.
STANDING OUT
*Foles appeared to have good rapport with wide receivers Dede Westbrook and Cole, completing an intermediate pass to Westbrook in team drills later in practice and also completing a few short out routes to Cole. …
*Second-year wide receiver DJ Chark Jr. caught an intermediate pass from Foles early in practice. …
*Reserve quarterback Alex McGough had an impressive completion to midway through practice to wide receiver Marcus Simms. …
*Skill players expectedly stood out more than linemen in Thursday's unpadded work, with running back Leonard Fournette having multiple impressive runs. Several runners had long runs in the non-contact drills. …
INJURY WATCH
Wide receiver Marqise Lee and left tackle Cam Robinson as expected began camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list; Lee missed last season with a preseason knee injury that included a torn anterior cruciate ligament while Robinson missed the last 14 games of the season with a torn ACL.
Linebacker Jake Ryan as expected began camp on the Reserve/Non-Football injury list; Marrone said Ryan – who signed with the Jaguars as an unrestricted free agent from the Green Bay Packers this past offseason after missing last season with a torn ACL – sustained a setback while working away from the facility in the offseason. That's why he's on the Non-Football list as opposed to PUP.
Rookie running back Ryquell Armstead practiced full Thursday. He originally had been placed on the PUP list, but Marrone said that was a diagnostic error and he was cleared to work full before practice Thursday. Armstead, a fifth-round selection, is expected to compete for a backup position behind starter Leonard Fournette.
NOTABLE
*Fourth-year linebacker Myles Jack missed practice because of illness Thursday; Marrone said Jack was up at 4:45 sick to his stomach – and that while Jack wanted to practice, Marrone and team physicians told him to wait a day. Veteran Najee Goode worked at middle linebacker in Jack's place Thursday.
*The Jaguars' starting offensive line Thursday: left tackle Josh Wells, guard Andrew Norwell, center Brandon Linder, right guard A.J. Cann and right tackle Cedric Ogbuehi; Wells is working at left tackle with Robinson not yet practicing while returning from his ACL injury. Rookie second-round right tackle Jawaan Taylor appeared to get repetitions with the first team late in practice. Working with the second-team line early in practice: tackle Leonard Wester, guard/center KC McDermott, center Tyler Shatley, guard Brandon Thomas and Taylor.
*The Jaguars are continuing to be cautious with rookie edge defender Josh Allen. The No. 7 overall selection in the 2019 NFL Draft, Allen missed all but one day of organized team activities and minicamp in May and June because of a knee bruise. He participated in individual drills Thursday, but did not appear to participate in team drills. With Ngakoue out and Allen not working team drills, veteran Lerentee McCray worked with the first-team at pass-rushing end.
