Jaguars head into 3-day minicamp
JACKSONVILLE — Jaguars coach Doug Marrone was pleased with the work his players put in over the past three weeks for the 10 organized team activity workouts that ended last week.
He expects to see similar progress this week for the team’s three-day minicamp that begins today.
Unlike the organized team activity workouts, which All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey skipped entirely, attendance for the minicamp is mandatory and fines are imposed for players that don’t show up.
Both Ramsey and running back Leonard Fournette, who missed the final nine OTA sessions, are expected to be among the 90 players reporting on Monday.
“I have spoken to pretty much all of the players and we expect them all to be here and we look forward to it,” Marrone said. “It will be condensed...It will be three days of work where you are trying to put a lot in.”
Players will wear helmets, but they won’t be in pads. The practices will be closed to the public.
When minicamp ends on Thursday, the Jaguars won’t convene again until training camp late next month.
“It will be three days of work where you are trying to put a lot in, you are trying to get a lot of situational work and things of that nature,” Marrone said. “Really, it kind of sets the base of the foundation of the knowledge of the scheme and the way we want to work.”
The Jaguars invited nine tryout players to participate – Jacksonville native Bryce Canady (cornerback), a former Paxon High standout who played at Florida International; offensive tackle Zach Banner, Southern Cal; punter Joseph Davidson, Bowling Green; long snapper Andrew East, Vanderbilt; long snapper Trenton Frix, Georgia; offensive tackle Sean Hickey, Syracuse; defensive end Marcus Martin, Slippery Rock; punter Cameron Nizialek, Georgia; and wide receiver DeAndre Smelter, Georgia Tech.
Some minicamp storylines:
The Jaguars’ All-Pro cornerback missed the entire voluntary portion of the Jaguars’ offseason program, but defensive coordinator Todd Wash expects Ramsey will be in shape and ready to go. Last year, Ramsey was held out of minicamp before he required surgery to repair a core muscle injury. He went on to have a careerhigh four interceptions and 18 pass breakups and helped the Jaguars advance to the AFC Championship game against New England in 2017. Fournette showed up for the first OTA workout three weeks ago and then missed the next nine because of personal reasons, according to Marrone.
Starting linebacker Myles Jack and safety Tashaun Gipson were both limited throughout OTAs because of injuries but both could ready to assume their normal roles in minicamp. Defensive ends Dante Fowler, Dawuane Smoot, fullback Tommy Bohanon and long snapper Carson Tinker did not participate because of injuries and their status for minicamp has not been disclosed.
Quarterback Blake Bortles was accurate on most of his throws during OTAs and needs to show the same consistency throughout minicamp. Tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins and wide receiver Donte Moncrief emerged as two of Bortles’ favorites targets in OTAs.