Jacksonville Jaguars coach Liam Coen doesn't sound like the team is ready to move on from embattled third-year wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr.
Eight days after Thomas dropped his third pass of the season against the Houston Texans in a 34-31 loss in London — and was benched for the entire second half — Coen said Thomas will have every opportunity to work his way back into the good graces of the coaching staff this week as the Jaguars (4-2) return from a bye to face the Indianapolis Colts (2-5) at EverBank Stadium on Nov. 1 (1 p.m., CBS).
Despite trade rumors swirlingduring the entire bye week and two teams in particular losing wide receivers to injury, the Los Angeles Rams (Davante Adams) and the Washington Commanders (Terry McLaurin), Thomas was
at the Miller Electric Center on Oct. 26 when the team reported back.
But Coen's optimism was still preceded by a warning: there's a rookie named Josh Cameron who already has two touchdown receptions to Thomas' one through six games, and gives the Jags added value on special teams.
Thomas hasn't caught a pass in two games after catching at least one pass in his first 35 NFL games. He has been targeted five times and has nine receptions for 104 yards. Through six games last season, Thomas had 24 receptions for 334 yards and through six games in 2024 as a rookie, Thomas had 25 receptions for 424 yards.
Coen and everyone else on the coaching staff have fallen in love with Cameron, the sixth-round rookie from Baylor who has eight catches for 117 yards (14.6 yards per catch). With Parker Washington on his way to another good season, and Travis Hunter's offensive snaps increased in the last two games, the case can be made that Thomas is expendable.
But not today.
Coen on Thomas: 'He's going ... to help us make plays'
"Every week's different …. that's what's kind of special about this group is that every week you got to get new people stepping up and making plays, and he's no different," Coen said of Thomas and the team's options.
In the next breath, Coen said Thomas may not be going anywhere soon, although the team has time with the NFL trade deadline 15 days away on Nov. 10.
"He's going to be able to help us make plays this week. I bet it. I know it," Coen said. "We're going to continue to support him and put our arm around him and continue to do what we got to do to make plays on Sundays, and we got to continue to put him in the best position to do so."
Coen also said Thomas remains a good teammate who is willing to do other parts of his job, such as blocking.
"BT works at it. He cares about this. He cares about winning and losing ... cares about his team," Coen said. "We all want to see guys have success individually, but I'm excited about attacking this week with BT."
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars coach Liam Coen still optimistic about Brian Thomas Jr.
