JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Anita from Springfield
With the recent contracts, I'm wondering where Cisco and Etienne fit in the front office plans. Do you have any thoughts? I imagine each situation is different given position, but both feel like the last remaining eligible core guys to resign.
I expect the Jaguars to watch how safety Andre Cisco plays this season then determine how he fits into their long-term plans from a salary-cap perspective. Because he is entering the final year of his rookie contract, and because the Jaguars under General Manager Trent Baalke typically don't renegotiate during the season, this feels like one to watch next offseason. The Jaguars have exercised the fifth-year option on running back Travis Etienne Jr., meaning he is under contract through 2025. I expect the Jaguars to figure out how to approach Etienne's long-term contract situation as 2025 grows closer.
Dale from Mobile, AL
Why hasn't Brian Thomas Jr. had any media availability during training camp? Seems odd that Jaguars PR is not making him available to speak to.
Jaguars rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., the No. 23 overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft, has been available to the media during 2024 Training Camp and he has spoken to the media. He hasn't been "on the podium" or "at the backdrop" because one player per day is there. Thomas hasn't been one of those players yet. That is expected to change Wednesday.
Boomgrounder from Moundsville
Question for you, John. Any chance we might hear Sweet Home Alabama played at the stadium during two-minute warning during the game the Jaguars wear the throwback Prowlers and put Coach Coughlin's in The Pride? That would be sweet.
This is a good idea. I have Passed It Along to the Powers That Be. I am more of a Power that Won't Be. For Good Reason.
Jeremy from Gilbert, AZ
It's hard to believe it has been eight years since the Jags drafted a truly special player in Jalen Ramsey (on the field anyway and all back issues aside). And then you have to go back another 10 years to 2006 when we drafted MJD. Two thoughts: First, Tom Coughlin was amazing at identifying, acquiring, developing and maximizing talent. And second, our general managers have really – and I mean really, really – stunk since.
This is a way to see the Jaguars' history. It's far from the only way. It's also a bit extreme. Tom Coughlin indeed built a very strong roster when he was head coach/general manager of the Jaguars from 1995-2002. He also made errors – just as pretty much anyone who ever has run a team has done. As for your other thoughts, former Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey certainly is a special talent. As was running back Maurice Jones-Drew. And that the Jaguars had a really bad drafting – and playing – stretch for a decade or so is well-documented. But it's unfair and inaccurate to portray current Jaguars General Manager Trent Baalke as a bad general manager. He is three seasons into a tenure that includes two winning seasons and the team has unquestionably improved its talent base in the last three seasons. I can't call Baalke a great general manager. I can absolutely say he hasn't stunk as the Jaguars' general manager.
Dmiz from Jagsonville
Zone, I know medical issues are not publicized for various reasons, but has it been reported what actually caused Hamilton's back issues last year? Was it an injury? I think you or someone recently alluded to a bacteria infection. What's his long-term prognosis and his ability to last the entire season? Also, certain people are weird. Missing Dewey is definitely not weird and us Jags fans really hope he's ok and returns sooner than not.
Jaguars nose tackle DaVon Hamilton developed a spinal abscess during the 2023 preseason, a major infection that kept him out the first seven games of the season and appeared to hamper pretty much his entire season. His long-term prognosis is fine and there's no reason he can't play the entire season. Also, Deeeeewey!!
MrMakersMark from E 3rd
I turned in NBC and the show at 7:30 was called the O-Zone. I got excited that I would get to see your solo show ... alas, Olympics. Did you not register the OZone?
Whoops.
Jerry from Italia, FL
Did Trevor Lawrence go play catch with his receivers during off time this summer or was he busy with his contract, wife and baby on the way? It seems he's trying to build chemistry with his receivers during camp this year where he normally seemed to come into camp with at least moderate chemistry already established?
Lawrence played catch with his receivers during the off time. Had he opted not to do so, it wouldn't be a big deal. Passing and throwing sessions with quarterbacks and receivers away from team facilities are nice. They play well on social media. They're not harmful. They're good for camaraderie, I suppose. Their importance is more perception than reality.
Alan
Can a team forfeit a preseason game if they compile a bunch of injuries? I understand the next-man-up mentality but let's say three quarterbacks get injured. Can they forfeit? How about a regular season game?
An NFL team can theoretically forfeit a game because there is a provision in the rules for a team to so. There never has been a forfeit in NFL history. If three quarterbacks – or too many players at any position – were to become injured, another player would line up at the position. If a team lost enough players where it couldn't field a team … well, I suppose it's possible in the sense that anything is possible but there's a such thing as silliness and this is sort of silliness.
J.Hooks from Orange Park
As the injury list grows, is it pretty much a fact that no NFL team starter escapes the season with zero injuries? Reported or not. Do they all get hurt?
Pretty much every NFL player has an ache or pain somewhere during the course of the season. Whether that ache or pain is an injury understandably is a very gray area.
Tom from The Ville (Burnsville, NC)
My mom was an English teacher, so that makes me an expert. Also, I googled it to check to see if I knew what I thought I knew. So, I can't in good conscience allow your use of the phrase "in good conscious" to go unnoted.
Your mom would be embarrassed for me, as would by grandfather – the great, well-read, witty and poetic editor Paul H. Oehser. Hell, I'm embarrassed for me. I feel guilty about this one. It will be on my conscious for a while.
Julio's son from Up aways, make a right at the light
Two fer Shatley
Fair.
Bradley from Sparks, NV
The Jags beat the Texans in Houston in week 12 with the division lead on the line when both teams were at full strength and playing extremely well. It was a close game on the scoreboard but there wasn't any doubt on who the better team was that day. It easily could have been a blowout and should've been a comfortable win. I rate the teams as even going into the season and predict the beginnings of a bitter rivalry, but who the hell knows at this point. I plan on staying tuned.
Good eye.
Sean from Oakleaf, FL
If two teams competing in a preseason game are not on the same page as to playing starters vs resting starters, does that diminish the value of the game for both teams? What is the value of watching Trevor Lawrence play against the second and third team defense?
Teams have no obligation to be on the same page when it comes to playing starters in preseason and teams play starters against reserves all the time – in preseason and the regular season. Does it diminish the value when one team plays starters and the other doesn't? A bit, I suppose. But remember: There's not an incredible amount of value to preseason games for established NFL starters in terms of evaluation. For established starters, preseason is more about getting a few live reps to get acclimated to something close to regular-season game speed. It probably diminishes value more if you're trying to evaluate a young, inexperienced player to see how he will fare against front-line NFL players. But there's a good chance such a player will have worked against starters from his own team during practice.
Nic from Phoenix, AZ
If/when the NFL moves to an 18-game schedule, do you think coaches will give players "scheduled days off?" Like we see in NBA and MLB.
I so want the answer to be no and I think the answer is no. Every part of me thinks every game will remain valuable and that "days off" will be limited to games played when a team has clinched its playoff seeding. Still…
