The Jacksonville Jaguars could get their first look at the starting lineup in action as early as Friday night.
In a post-practice press conference on Monday, head coach Liam Coen said he is leaning towards letting the starters play a few drives against the Carolina Panthers in the next preseason game, but also said they will likely not see action in the third preseason game.
"I'm trending towards us potentially playing Friday night a little bit with the ones," Coen said. "That's the goal right now, is to look at potentially playing them a little Friday night. You just look at the amount of actual padded days we have left until the game week, and it's very few and far between, so you set a schedule, you set it, and you're like, well, timing and circumstances,
things change, and when you have to pivot a little bit, and I think we need a little bit more work in terms of coming off of the Saints joint and the Saints game. Think we just need a little more padded work against each other, good on good. Can't really do it today, had to pivot a little bit, so like to maybe see these guys Friday night, you know... go out there, get a couple drives, potentially, and that'll also help alleviate some of the depth, as you mentioned, to get some of these guys some work, knowing that I'm not playing them in Week 3."
The Jaguars' depth players struggled a bit against the Saints, though they ultimately battled through to get the win. Friday's game against the Panthers will give the first real idea as to how starters, including big-name players like Trevor Lawrence and Travis Hunter, might perform this season.
Furthermore, as Coen explained, there are not many padded practices left, and with the starters likely not playing in the third preseason game, this will be one of the few chances they have to get meaningful reps in before the regular season starts.
This approach will also give depth players the ability to reduce their workload, which could be especially important regarding the offensive line. That unit has been decimated with injuries, the latest being Chuma Edoga, who was injured early on in the game against the Saints.
"It's kind of unfortunately we got that bug at the moment," Liam Coen said of the injuries plaguing the offensive line unit after Saturday's game. "We just got to kind of get through it."
Coen entered the preseason with a plan, but as he acknowledged Monday, circumstances change. With fewer padded practices remaining than he would like, the Jaguars may now use Friday night to get the first-team units the work they still need.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Coen reveals potential plan for Jaguars starters v. Panthers
