Will Gabe Davis Play in Jacksonville Jaguars Preseason Opener vs. Kansas City Chiefs?

The veteran wide receiver hasn't been limited at practice in recent days and seems set to play on Saturday.

Jul 26, 2024; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Gabe Davis (0) participates in training camp at Miller Electric Center. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

The Jacksonville Jaguars have traditionally played their starters in the preseason under head coach Doug Pederson, and that won't change on Saturday against the Kansas City Chiefs.

One name who will be on the field despite battling through an injury during the offseason is wide receiver Gabe Davis. Davis missed most of the offseason program but returned for the final minicamp. He then was slowly brought into things during training camp, sitting out team drills at times during the eagle stages.

But Davis seems to be full systems go in recent weeks, taking part in team drills and full contact drills and slowly becoming a bigger piece of the offense. And according to head coach Doug Pederson, the next step is for Davis to play with the rest of the starting offense this weekend against the defending champions.

“Yeah, I mean, he's now starting to feel a little bit better each day. You’ve got to remember he came in during the rookie camp, so for three days, he was working. But I plan on playing him some, get him out there," Pederson said on Monday.

"But again, there's a fine line with that, because as you mentioned, we want to make sure he's healthy for the entire season. He's done some really good things in practice. He's showing us enough that—and he's one of those veteran guys that you don't really need to see a ton of in preseason games. But at the same time, I think it'd be good for him to get out there with his guys, especially this first one, home game, all that, and feel that experience.”

Davis, a fourth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft out of UCF, caught 163 passes for 2,730 yards and 27 touchdowns in four years in Buffalo. In 2024, he caught 45 passes for 746 yards and seven touchdowns. Davis never caught fewer than six touchdowns in a season.

---

• Follow and like us on Facebook.
• Submit your questions for our mailbag.
• Subscribe to the Jaguars On SI Podcast on Apple and Spotify.
• Check out the Jaguars On SI YouTube Channel.