Jaguars Notebook: Observations From Day 9 of Training Camp

What did we see during the Jaguars' stadium practice on Saturday?

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterbacks Mac Jones (10), Trevor Lawrence (16) and C.J. Beathard (3) go through warm up exercises under the watchful eye of Lawrence's strength coach/nutritionist, Will Wynkoop during the second day of an NFL football training camp practice session Thursday, July 25, 2024 at EverBank Stadium's Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. / Bob Self/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Jacksonville Jaguars held their annual stadium practice at EverBank Stadium on Saturday, giving fans a chance to soak in training camp practice No. 9 in the same place they will see their team play this fall.

“It's a great day. We do invite the military and their families here, and I think it's great to honor them and get the fans in the stadium," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said on Friday.

"It's good for our new players who haven't experienced that, to get over there and practice over there and experience that. So, it's a good day. It's a really good day and I look forward to it every year.”

So, what did we see during practice No. 9? We break it down below.

Offensive line injuries stack up

The Jaguars already entered Saturday with some notable injuries on the offensive line, and they left the stadium even more banged up. Left tackle Cam Robinson was limited due to a shoulder injury he sustained on Friday. He didn't participate in any team drills and was replaced by Walker Little. As for right tackle Anton Harrison, who was replaced by Cole Van Lanen, the second-year player is still in concussion protocol.

And toward the second-half of practice, the Jaguars had another starting offensive lineman go down in left guard Ezra Cleveland. Cleveland limped after a pair of reps in one-on-one drills against rookie defensive tackle Maason Smith and was then attended to by trainers. The Jaguars said after practice that Cleveland, who didn't return to practice and was replaced in team drills by Tyler Shatley, had sustained a leg injury.

The Jaguars still have a month until Week 1, so they obviously have time to get healthy. We also don't know the severity of Cleveland's injury, while Robinson is at least healthy enough to take part in practice to some degree. But as things stand today, only center Mitch Morse and right guard Brandon Scherff have made it through camp unscathed.

Cam Little has a day

It was a great practice for rookie kicker Cam Little, who has frankly had the best training camp of any Jaguars kicker in recent memory -- including Josh Lambo. Little has impressed with both his leg strength and accuracy throughout camp and Saturday gave him a chance to kick with a bit more pressure on. Little responded well, too, making 3-of-4 kicks in team drills and showing why the Jaguars are entrusting him with the kicker role.

Little first made a 57-yard field goal that frankly would have been good from 60. He then missed right on a 51-yard attempt, but bounced back with a 47-yard field goal shortly after. Little then was tasked with making a kick on the final play of the day -- a 51-yard field goal, the same type of kick he missed earlier. Pederson made sure to get the crowd and sidelines pumped for the kick to add some noise and pressure, but it didn't matter. Little nailed it down the middle of the uprights and drew a huge celebration from the offense.

Defense, offense go back-and-forth

It was honestly a fairly even day between the offense and defense when it came to team drills and 7-on-7. The defense was able to mostly contain the Jaguars' running game in team drills, with D.J. Coleman, Yasir Abdullah and Trevis Gipson all knifing into the backfield for tackles for losses at different points. Travon Walker also knocked away one Trevor Lawrence pass while Devin Lloyd picked up a would-be sack. Andre Cisco was also in great position to knock a pass away from the hands of Brian Thomas Jr. in the middle of the field.

And in red-zone drills, the defense mostly stifled the offense with Darnell Savage and Devin Lloyd recording pass breakups on Christian Kirk. The offense had some moments, including a dart to Gabe Davis in the seams for a touchdown despite tight coverage and a similarly difficult throw to Evan Engram for a score. But in terms of red-zone reps, the defense won the day.

Lawrence and the Jaguars' offense ended on a high note, however. Lawrence went 6-of-7 in the final team drills and made one of his best passes of training camp to Christian Kirk for a touchdown over Jarrian Jones. And perhaps most importantly, Lawrence didn't have any plays where he put the ball in harms way.

Undrafted rookie continues to make plays

It will be hard for anyone to take a spot on the Jaguars' running back depth chart this summer considering Travis Etienne, Tank Bigsby, Keilan Robinson, and likely D'Ernest Johnson all already have their roles on the team, whether on offense or special teams. With that said, undrafted running back Jalen Jackson has increasingly become a player to watch thanks his performances in practice.

Jackson broke off several big runs on Friday to build some momentum for the weekend, and he continued the trend on Saturday. Jackson once again showed off big-play ability with two long runs in team periods -- one up the middle and one to the left sideline -- and then brought in a grab on a great catch downfield vs. Terrell Edmunds. Jackson could become a fan-favorite during camp.

Play of the day

The best play of the day has to be Kirk's touchdown catch. Lawrence made it into a tight window after good coverage from Jarrian Jones, and Kirk made an even better play by getting his second foot down in the back of the end zone.

Other notes

• Maason Smith won a pair of one-on-ones against Ezra Cleveland and continues to stack solid days. Ryan Nielsen had some positive words on him before practice.

• The red-zone wasn't a great period for Brian Thomas Jr. He dropped one touchdown pass and then likely would have had another had he continued a route he stopped prematurely on.

• Walker Little had some really impressive one-on-ones against Josh Hines Allen. He had a good day.

• Gregory Junior left practice with a knee injury and did not return.

• Cooper Hodges (back), Josh Pederson (ankle), Patrick Murtagh (ankle), Ventrell Miller (hand), Andrew Wingard (knee), and Anton Harrison (concussion) all did not practice.

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