JACKSONVILLE – The coming season matters a lot.
That's true from a team perspective for Prince Amukamara, and it's also true on personal level for the Jaguars' veteran cornerback.
Amukamara, a sixth-year veteran who signed with the Jaguars as an unrestricted free agent in early March, appeared on Jaguars.com LIVE with John Oehser, J.P. Shadrick and Brian Sexton early Wednesday afternoon.
Among the topics was the importance of the 2016 season for Amukamara, who signed a one-year contract with the Jaguars.
"I don't want to say it's a make-or-break year, but I would say it's very important," Amukamara said. "The knock – and I hate bringing it up – has always been durability and not ability for me. I'm a firm believer that if I just put 16 games together I'll be able to show what I'm capable of doing."
Amukamara, a first-round selection by the New York Giants in the 2011 NFL Draft, spent his first five NFL seasons with the Giants.
"This challenges me," he said. "I'm on a new team, new defense, new conference, new everything … To show that I can excel here I think would open a lot of people's eyes."
Amukamara, who worked on the side during the first four days of Jaguars Organized Team Activities, said he expects to practice Thursday. He said his absence early was mostly precautionary.
"I'm just happy to finally be out there with the guys," Amukamara said. "I could have been on the field earlier, but we're just doing things smart."
Also on Wednesday Amukamara discussed:
*The defensive performance Tuesday in OTAs, calling it "one of the best practices I've ever been around from a playmaking part on the defensive side." He added, "I was very excited. I just can't wait for the guys up front to actually go get the quarterback because I feel like we have some monsters. The front four, I'm excited about because we've got so many guys … I don't think you're going to be able to double our guys. If you let someone play one-on-one it's going to be a problem. I'm very excited about it."…
*The importance of free-agent free-safety Tashaun Gipson: "That makes you feel comfortable when I have a guy back there, where if I do get beat I know he's going to have my back." …
*The importance of OTAs for the team and the secondary: "There are a lot of new guys back there [in the secondary], so everyone's learning a new defense. Everyone's trying to get that communication down pat and learning how to play with each other." …
*The depth for the Jaguars at cornerback, a group that includes not only Amukamara, but Jalen Ramsey, Davon House, Aaron Colvin, Dwayne Gratz and Demetrius McCray. "There's a lot of talent," Amukamara said, noting that McCray and Gratz have been strong early in OTAs. "This league is moving to a passing league, so the demand for corners is definitely high." …
*The talent level of Ramsey, the No. 5 overall selection in the 2016 NFL Draft: "I played with Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie in New York. He was the best athlete I've seen in my life. Jalen's very similar. Jalen's long, quick … he can jump. And Jalen's a very, very, very confident player. We really like him and we're excited to get him back." …
