Tuesday’s joint practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers started with a bang.
On the first 11-vs-11 play of Tuesday’s joint practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. immediately reminded Bucs defenders of his game-breaking speed by zooming past Zyon McCollum and leaping over the goal line to haul in a deep pass for six hypothetical points.
As quickly as his teammate’s arms rose to celebrate the score, they fell just as fast. Thomas was visibly shaken
up after landing awkwardly on his left shoulder to secure the catch. Jacksonville’s starting X receiver got up on his own and even re-entered the scrimmage a play later, but it would be the last action he saw.
“I think he’s alright,” head coach Liam Coen said after practice. “I mean, just came down on his shoulder. I think holding him out was smart. Keep him out, and then get him [ready to] go for Cleveland.”
Hopefully, Thomas will return well before the Week 1 matchup against the Browns. The Jaguars’ other two starting wideouts, Parker Washington and Jakobi Meyers, have also missed some recent practice time due to undisclosed injuries. And Travis Hunter continues to focus on playing cornerback — despite Meyers and Thomas being largely unavailable, he spent zero time with the offense on Tuesday.
Washington stepped up and carried the passing offense for much of the morning practice. The all-too-obvious breakout candidate had several strong-handed catches in all areas of the field, including one in redzone drills when he floated over two defenders to snag a touchdown.
While Washington saw extra targets, the extra snaps went to sixth-round rookies Josh Cameron and CJ Williams. The latter was mostly on the field in three-receiver sets; the former got more opportunities with the first-team offense. Cameron took advantage, finishing a touchdown grab in redzone drills and two contested catches in two-minute drills, but it was more of a “good, he didn’t flop” outing than a “he definitely needs more touches” performance. Both rookies struggled to separate from defenders, and there was one play where Cameron got tangled up with Washington on a deep route concept.
“There was a couple things that I think we might’ve jacked up out there,” said Coen. “I know they’re blocking their tails off. I know Josh had a couple good ones. Probably didn’t get a ton of target work, Parker was probably getting a lot of it, Strange got some more.
“But I’ve been pleased with their ability to jump in — in terms of, Jakobi’s down, then BT’s out — being able to go in, and us still operate as an offense, and still be able to be efficient at times. Would like to see us separate maybe a little bit better on some of those second-level throws, but they’re coming along.”
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