Brad Meester has undergone biceps surgery, Reggie Williams was scheduled to undergo knee surgery on Friday and coach Jack Del Rio had no new information to offer on the Jaguars' attempts to sign first-round draft pick Derrick Harvey to a contract.
Dr. James Andrews performed the surgery on Meester and was to do the same to Williams. Del Rio said he hoped to have updated information on both players' conditions when he meets with the media following Friday night's intrasquad scrimmage.
"You're talking about two guys that are not on PUP (physically unable to perform) and we expect to get back," Del Rio said of Meester and Williams. Those words would seem to leave only "when?" as the mystery.
Del Rio made his comments following a light practice on Friday morning. Tonight's scrimmage is open to the public and traditionally draws a crowd of about 10,000, but the format will be altered due to a smaller-than-usual roster and a heightened sense of being careful to avoid injuries.
"The first half is going to be more of a thud team practice. At some point, we'll have an all-out, one-on-one skelly (passing drill), and then we'll get into some live scrimmage stuff. Less live scrimmage, more workload. Some of our proven players are going to get more work tonight than they would get in a normal scrimmage," Del Rio said.
As the first week of training camp draws to a close, Del Rio was asked to name players who've made strong early impressions.
"James Wyche has been very good. We look forward to seeing more of him," Del Rio said of the third-year defensive end. "Tony McDaniel has had a very strong start to camp. I think Justin Durant and Daryl Smith are going to be future stars in this league. Rashean Mathis has practiced as well as he ever has here.
"Offensively, our running game picked up right where it left off. Drew Miller has been more than a camp guy. (Cleo Lemon) has taken his game to another level. I don't know if you'd call it a surprise but Matt (Jones) has had his best week and it's because he's been out there all week. If we can get him to fight through soreness and fatigue," Del Rio said, his voice trailing off.
Tonight's practice/scrimmage offers a higher level of opportunity for players to make an impression before the preseason begins next Friday.
