The Jacksonville Jaguars’ opening preseason game was still five days away, but the excitement was already etched on the face of back-up quarterback Carter Bradley.
“Yeah, I’m fired up,” he said.
Bradley has reason to.
Trevor Lawrence won’t play against the New Orleans Saints on Aug. 15 and Nick Mullens isn’t expected to play long, clearing the deck for Bradley and rookie Joey Aguilar. Bradley and Aguilar are likely competing for the third-team quarterback role that, again likely, will be on the practice squad.
“(Bradley is) going to get a good amount of play,” coach Liam Coen said. “I really want to see Carter just go execute the offense at a high level.”
I’m calling Bradley a Jacksonville native since he was 12 years old when his father, Gus, was hired
as the Jaguars coach in January 2013 and the family moved from Seattle. Carter stayed here through high school (Providence School) before playing collegiately at Toledo and South Alabama.
Bradley was undrafted and signed with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2024. He went 17-of-34 passing for 225 yards, one touchdown and one interception in that preseason and spent the regular season on the practice squad. Cut a week before camp last July, he signed with the San Francisco 49ers and was 22-of-4 passing for 199 yards, one touchdown, interception and ankle injury apiece.
Bradley was out of the NFL for 25 days before signing with the Jaguars’ practice squad last Sept. 29.
The life of a third- and fourth-team quarterback during this Jaguars camp is getting very few snaps. If Lawrence and Mullens get four snaps per segment, Bradley and Aguilar get one apiece.
“That comes with understanding the position of the back-up quarterback,” Bradley said. “It’s not your show and it’s not your time, but you go in with the approach of, ‘I’m learning how to be a back-up in this league and I have to go out and be efficient (when the opportunity does come).’ It’s given me a good challenge every day to execute at a high level. I’ve had my moments when it hasn’t looked pretty and I’ve had my moments when I feel like, ‘OK, we’re starting to get it a little bit.’”
Compared to last August with San Francisco, where has Bradley made his biggest strides?
“More accurate, more consistent and see the game a little bit better,” he said. “Spitting out the (play-call) language has been a lot better.”
Coen first wants to see Bradley have no hiccups before the snap (no delay of game or motion issues) and then …
“Don’t overanalyze it,” Coen said. “Just go one play at a time, execute the offense and let your play-making skills take over. On our scout team (last year), he was out there running around, making plays, making throws and doing some good things. You want to just see him operate, but also, do what makes you good. I don’t want to take that away from him.”
Said Bradley: “I’ve been feeling good these past couple of days and I’m starting to see it better every time I’m out there. The operation needs to be at a premium.”
About the Jaguars
1. Franchise value rises: Sportico unveiled its annual NFL valuation rankings and the Jaguars were 29th (up two spots from last year) at $7.91 billion (up a league-high 42%). Shad Khan paid $770 million for the Jaguars in January 2012.
2. Cleveland-Harrison partnership: Upon being acquired from Minnesota in 2023, Jaguars left guard Ezra Cleveland said he and new left tackle Anton Harrison became fast friends. They are hoping to achieve a similar rapport on the field after Harrison’s move from right tackle on July 31. “The on-field relationship is important and getting to know how he plays and him getting to know how I play,” Cleveland said. “It’s verbal and non-verbal. Over-communicating makes his job easier and the same for me.”
3. Miller vs. Combs: Back-of-the-roster competitions will begin to gain clarity against New Orleans, but atop the depth chart, there are only two starting duels (at least for now) — running back (Chris Rodriguez Jr. vs. Bhayshul Tuten) and weak-side linebacker (Branson Combs vs. Ventrell Miller). Combs vs. Miller should take center stage against the Saints. Don’t be surprised if Combs and Miller are on the field together because the Jaguars need a No. 2 middle linebacker; Jack Kiser (right knee) has been out since July 29.
4. Keeping the flag: The NFL this year is allowing the head coach to designate an assistant coach to throw the red challenge flag. Coen said he will continue to control the flag. Last year, in consultation with his staff, Coen went 5-5 on challenges.
Extra points
1. Go away, Stephanie White: Can the Indiana Fever’s overmatched coach just go away already? White has majored in losing control of the narrative, the latest example not coming to the defense of one of her players, Sophie Cunningham, after she was clotheslined by Chicago player DiJonai Carrington, actually complimenting Carrington by saying, “nobody is gonna go walking in for a layup.” Days later, White gave a grandstanding and rambling statement during a pregame media availability trying to clean up the mess and said, “hate, fear-mongering and divisiveness, the stuff that’s trying to hijack our league will not win.” Whatever. What is hijacking the WNBA is the incompetence of its commissioner, spineless coaches and select players, which overshadows great stories like Caitlin Clark and Minnesota’s dynamic rookie Olivia Miles.
2. FSU to honor Janikowski: Florida State announced it will retire kicker Sebastian Janikowski’s No. 38 jersey during its season opener against New Mexico State on Aug. 29. Janikowski, who visited FSU’s practice on the UNF campus earlier this month, is the only two-time winner of the Lou Groza Award (nation’s best kicker). He made 66 of 83 field goals from 1997-99 and remains the last kicker to be drafted in the first round (No. 17 to the Raiders in 2000).
3. Etc.: Miami announced a five-year contract extension for men’s basketball coach Jai Lucas, but that shouldn’t stop him from being Florida’s first call when (if) Todd Golden bolts for the NBA. Lucas started his college playing career at UF (2007-08). The Hurricanes went 26-9 in Lucas’ first season. … I started reading a sports book and within the first 30-plus pages, the last name of a Super Bowl-winning quarterback and the first name of a current NBA coach were misspelled. Book went in the trash, a waste of $25. … Congrats to the family of the late Tony Trabert, who lived in Ponte Vedra Beach until his passing in Feb. 2021. During a ceremony on Aug. 9, the Cincinnati Open tennis tournament renamed one of its courts, “Tony Trabert Stadium 3.” Trabert, a five-time Grand Slam event winner, was a Cincinnati native. … Aug. 11 represented by one-year mark back with The Times-Union. Thanks for reading and I’m always on the search for cool stories so drop me an email.
Contact O’Halloran at rohalloran@gannett.com or on X at @ryanohalloran. Listen to Ryan on 1010AM on Tuesdays (6:35 p.m. on “Into The Night"), Thursdays (1:15 on "XL Primetime") and Fridays (4-6 p.m. on "The Lead").
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars see franchise value soar, ready for first preseason game
