Jaguars vs. Buccaneers: Mac Jones Set to Start

Mac Jones will get the start for the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday night.

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Mac Jones (10) and quarterback C.J. Beathard (3) play catch during a combined NFL football training camp session between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jacksonville Jaguars Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024 at EverBank Stadium’s Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

Mac Jones is getting his first start as a Jacksonville Jaguar.

Jones was announced as the starter for Saturday's Week 2 preseason game by head coach Doug Pederson, who earlier in the week said it was undetermined who would start vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Jones has been in a battle with long-time back-up quarterback C.J. Beathard in training camp, which each getting reps with the No. 2 offense. Tonight, Jones will play the first half, while Beathard will get the second half.

“Yeah, I think it's been really close honestly. The addition of Mac was great for that room. It was great for C.J. Both those guys have really embraced the challenge," Pederson said this week.

"We've been upfront with both of them and explained exactly how camp was going to go and really both of them I think are within three or four reps of having a 50-50 split right down the middle. So, it's been good. It's been good competition. C.J. has been a really positive influence on Mac, just learning the system too. That's something you don't see. When somebody's challenging for your spot, and you see that other player coach him up a little bit, that's encouraging and that's positive. But both guys have done a great job."

“I've competed my whole life. And I find great joy in competition. I try to be myself. I'm not going to change because of one thing or another," Jones said this week.

"Like I said, I think we have a great room here. Trevor and C.J. have been awesome. And I feel like we're brothers in there and that's what you want. And you want to bounce ideas off each other and compete every day. And sometimes we have these net challenges and stuff. It's like three brothers out there just throwing the ball around. We compete in that regard. We compete in every other regard. But at the end of the day we're on the same team. We're all working for the common goal, and that's, every good team I've been on, that's the case. The bad ones, not so much.”

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