JACKSONVILLE – This is a week for preparation and evaluation.

The Jaguars' starters will play in the 2024 preseason opener Saturday night. Their time will be comparatively brief, with time thereafter about getting young players an opportunity.

This often is Head Coach Doug Pederson's approach, and it likely will be again Saturday.

"You want them to get out there, knock the rust off, get that game feel," he said.

That will be the objective for Jaguars starters and front-line players when they play the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in a Preseason Week 1 game at EverBank Stadium Saturday. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence and other healthy starters will start and play a quarter or so.

The Chiefs reportedly are expected to play starters about the same amount of time.

"That's just how I've treated that," Pederson said. "I know that's how [Chiefs Head] Coach [Andy Reid] has treated it. I think it's important for guys to play, especially early. It doesn't have to be a lot or a long time.

"It's not long, but it's good for those guys to go out there and do that."

Jaguars 2024 Training Camp continued Thursday at the Miller Electric Center with a one-hour, 40-minute practice on Day 13. Pederson said early in camp that he planned to play starters in Preseason Week 1, then likely not play them in a Preseason Week 2 home game against The Tampa Bay Buccaneers because the Jaguars will practice twice against the Buccaneers in the week leading to the game.

Jaguars starters are expected to play against the Atlanta Falcons in the preseason finale.

"I want to see execution," Pederson said. "I want to see guys playing hard and fast and just doing what we've done for the first two weeks of camp. In preseason, everybody wants to win the games. That's the bottom line, but it's more still evaluating your roster, especially when you get past your so-called starters.

"But with the first group going against another first group, you want to see execution and very few [mental errors]. Again, you're not game planning anybody. You're just going out and doing your job."

Also on Thursday: Pederson said C.J. Beathard will work Saturday as the second-team quarterback with Mac Jones working with the third team. Beathard has been the backup to Lawrence the past three seasons, with the Jaguars trading with the New England Patriots for Jones this past March.

Jones was the No. 15 overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft and started 42 games in three seasons with 46 touchdowns and 36 interceptions.

"C.J. will go second in this game; Mac will go third," Pederson said. "You're hoping if C.J. is at the end of the first half, he gets maybe a two-minute drive. Mac, maybe at the end of the game, or a four-minute drive thing, some of the things we've worked on in practice. You can't control it as much, but that's going to be the rotation for this game."

Pederson on Thursday also said the following players won't play Saturday: Left guard Ezra Cleveland (heel), right tackle Anton Harrison (concussion), rookie running back Keilan Robinson (toe), rookie offensive lineman Steven Jones (calf), rookie defensive tackle Jordan Jefferson (ankle), safety Andrew Wingard (knee), safety Darnell Savage (shoulder) and defensive lineman Arik Armstead (knee).

INJURY WATCH

• Three Jaguars players missed practice Thursday: Tight end Patrick Murtagh (ankle) Wingard and defensive end De'Shaan Dixon (knee).
• Four players practiced limited: Robinson (individual drills), Jefferson (individual drills), Jones (individual drills) and Cleveland (individual drills). Harrison (concussion protocol) returned to practice full. Armstead (knee) remains on the physically unable to perform list to start camp.