The Jacksonville Jaguars are back on the prowl. As 2026 NFL training camps kick off around the league, head coach Liam Coen’s message to his team is: “Let’s go earn something.”
Above all else, the Jags are hunting for wins — but their desire for respect is no secret either.
“Nothing in this league is given. Every year is a brand new year. Yes, we have a lot of returning, a lot of coaches returning, a lot of staff members returning, a lot of players returning. But we have to treat it as new, right?
In a lot of ways, we have to reconnect our relationships and be intentional about the way that we communicate and practice and meet with each other.
“These guys know, I mean, what is it, 30-something out of the next 40 games in the next two years? They’re not going to be played here in Jacksonville. So we’re not going to use it as an excuse. We’re not going to use it as a ‘but’. It’s just, it is what it is. And our mindset and mentality is going to be: drop us off in a plane anywhere, and we’ll go play you.”
The Jags will scrimmage at the Miller Electric Center over the next month before starting to compete against other teams at joint practices, preseason games, and finally, regular season football.
Wednesday marked the first day of training camp in Jacksonville. Here’s everything we saw and heard from along the sidelines.
Secondary Steals the Show
It very much looked like Day 1 for the offense. While there weren’t too many takeaways to be had from the trenches, considering that pads won’t be going on until August 3, some uncharacteristic sloppiness from skill-position players allowed several defensive backs to have a day.
Jakobi Meyers dropped a wide-open pass over the middle; Eric Murray intercepted an overthrow from Trevor Lawrence; and I noted pass breakups for Montaric Brown, Jabbar Muhammad, Caleb Ransaw, Jalen Huskey, and Dennis Gardeck.
It was great to see sticky coverage from a secondary aiming for improvement in that area specifically, but as Coen said after practice, “I thought [practice] was a little sloppy in terms of drops and some inaccuracy.” Trevor Lawrence admitted, “I didn’t think I had the best day today necessarily.”
The expectation is that Jacksonville’s offense won’t be rusty for long. Lawrence added, “I feel like this whole offseason and even today, I threw it well and just missed a couple. But I feel really healthy. I feel like I’m in great shape. I think I’m throwing it as good as ever. I think the chemistry with the guys is really, really good. I like where our team’s at. So, I’m excited, really excited for this training camp.”
The franchise quarterback is “very optimistic” that the offense can pick up where it left off in 2025.
“To be honest, we should be able to do that, and we should do that day one. Not every day’s going to be perfect. We’re going to have some days. We have a good defense too, so we’ll have some days. Like today, the guys on defense made some great plays and made some adjustments and made some really good plays in the ball. That’s going to happen but for us to operate smoothly, get in and out of the huddle, to know all the checks, to know all the changes that we’re making at the line of scrimmage, get the ball snapped to play clean football … the plays will come.”
2 Key Pieces Return
One of the most hyped individuals in franchise history got back on the grass on Wednesday.
Travis Hunter, the two-way phenom drafted second overall last year, wore a teal (offensive) jersey that would be covered by a white (defensive) pinnie at various points throughout practice.
According to ESPN’s Michael DiRocco, No. 12 played 12 total snaps during 11-on-11 team drills: eight on defense, four on offense. The plan has not changed. Hunter will focus on being a starting cornerback while continuing to cross-train on offense.
“I got to give a lot of credit to Shane Waldron, Jay Kaiser, and Chris Bach, our sports science [director]. Those guys put in countless hours and time, really looking at the reps, where he needs to be now, right? How do we balance his reps here, knowing that we’re trying to ease him in, but he also at some point needs to get double the amount that a normal player gets … We’ve been extremely intentional about it. So there’s no hiccups, miscommunication, and everybody’s got confidence knowing exactly where he’s at and what plays he’s in on.”
Hunter had a strong rep against rookie wideout Josh Cameron to force an out-of-bounds pass, then a climb-the-ladder catch that was knocked out of his hands as he was going to the ground. The fireworks haven’t quite started but the flashes are certainly there. It doesn’t really look like Hunter is recovering from an injury.
“He’s definitely got some of those freaky traits,” Coen said. “He made a comment to me on the grass the other day that he feels, when he’s running, he feels lighter. So, you put on 10 pounds of muscle, he feels lighter. I mean, that’s a good thing, right? So, I feel like he’s confident in himself, in his physicality right now. I think he’s going to go into the season feeling more confident in what he’s been able to put on his body, for armor purposes and physicality. And, you know, he’s got to get in football shape, that’s for sure. But it’s exciting to see.”
Free agent addition Chris Rodriguez Jr. was also back on the field. He didn’t participate in team drills as he continues to return from offseason foot surgery, but it was a step in the right direction for Coen’s former running back at Kentucky.
“What he brings to this team, I don’t think any of us are going to see throughout the entire training camp,” Coen said. “Until we play tackle football, it’s going to be very difficult for all of us here to gain a true appreciation for who he is and what he does. I’ve seen it, so I do appreciate his skill set and what he brings, but just as a pro, he’s a good dude. He doesn’t say a ton, but he’s tough. I mean, he’s one of those glass eaters. He’s going to run through a wall for his teammates, for his coaches, for this organization when the time comes.”
“Pleased to see him. He was so down. I mean, it was a frustrating time when you get here and get hurt on the first day. So I think he was just pleased to be able to get out here, be with his teammates, take some coaching points, and knowing that the best of C-Rod will not be seen until the pads come on and we play tackle.”
In other injury news, backup linebacker and special teams contributor Jack Kiser went down with an injury during Wednesday’s practice. “No update yet,” Coen said. “Getting an MRI tonight. We’ll have a better idea. He wasn’t, like, screaming or freaking out in pain. And so, very hopeful that it’ll be shorter than longer, but really don’t know exactly what it is at this time.”
A New Starter at Guard?
Most of the new Jaguars brought in this offseason profile to be rotational or developmental pieces. With minimal high-profile names added, Jacksonville’s starting lineup won’t see significant turnover.
One of the few true positional battles expected to arise during training camp is at the right guard spot. Versatile veteran Patrick Mekari held down that spot last season, but the 28-year-old appears to be at risk of losing his starting job to second-year pro Wyatt Milum.
On Wednesday, we saw Milum spend a significant amount of time playing with the first-team offense. That should not lead us to make assumptions about his 2026 playing time. Coen mentioned that tight ends Nate Boerkircher and Tanner Koziol got a lot of opportunities “to put them in some positions that maybe are a little uncomfortable early on … we got to go see what they can do.”
The Jaguars may just be experimenting with Milum — but at the very least, the fact that he’s being given such opportunities so early in training camp provides him the opportunity to truly set himself apart and earn the role.
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