Jacksonville’s training camp injury woes continue as Trevor Lawrence’s top target faces a sideline stint, threatening his availability for high-stakes preseason repetitions against the Buccaneers.
Injuries have marred the Jacksonville Jaguars' training camp, and Jakobi Meyers is the newest addition to the list after coach Liam Coen revealed he jammed his right hand.
Meyers was seen on the sideline wearing a brace in Jacksonville's 34-17 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Friday night.
Coen said the team will evaluate and determine his availability closer to Tuesday's joint practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It is a blow to the wide receiver corps, but the Jaguars' coach did not seem concerned about his availability for Week 1's opener against the Cleveland Browns.
Meyers has blossomed into a valuable receiver for Jacksonville, which acquired him in a mid-season trade with the Las Vegas Raiders. He quickly became one of Trevor Lawrence's favorite targets in the final nine games.
The former Raider hauled in 42 receptions for 483 yards and three touchdowns on 61 targets. His receptions and yards were the best in the group during the final weeks, overshadowing Parker Washington and Brian Thomas Jr.
Jacksonville has treated him as a lead receiver in his first offseason with the team. ESPN's Michael DiRocco reported Meyers has gotten the most starting snaps, alongside Washington, while Thomas and Travis Hunter split reps.
Coen has praised the 29-year-old's ability to get open consistently, calling him "quarterback-friendly."
"He's so quarterback-friendly in that he understands concepts, I think, different than most receivers, to where it's like, 'Alright, maybe I'm not getting the ball, but I truly understand why my job is so important to do every single play because it may not be dialed up for me, but I can still get open,'" Coen said.
That's likely what played a role in such a quick adjustment to Coen's offense and thriving after switching teams.
Jacksonville has built a strong wide receiver corps with one trade acquisition and three homegrown talents. They sparked an eight-game winning streak to end the season, finishing with the second-best record in franchise history at 13-4.
A historic year came to a quick end as the Buffalo Bills snuffed them out in the Wild Card 27-24. The Jaguars are hungry to continue improving and use their postseason loss to fuel a deep playoff run.
Meyers could be key to that happening. Lawrence said he was surprised by how quickly the two connected, and the offseason presented more opportunities to strengthen their chemistry.
After three seasons in Las Vegas, he has found a new home in Jacksonville. He signed a three-year, $60 million contract extension last December.
Meyers potentially sitting out the joint practice against the Buccaneers would be concerning if the injury was much more severe. It seems the Jaguars are taking the cautious approach to ensure he is available to start the regular season.
