Jacksonville Jaguars should sit all starters for final preseason game

The Jacksonville Jaguars are heading to Washington to face the Redskins Thursday night in the final preseason game before the start of the 2015 regular season, and there’s really only one goal in that exhibition match – get out of there healthy.

As news comes out of Julius Thomas‘ unexpected surgery, the need for the Jaguars to keep their key players healthy going into the regular season is heightened. The Jacksonville offense has looked extremely efficient despite the absence of Thomas and second year receiver Marqise Lee, but having those two options would certainly help.

The Jaguars kept their starters on the field quite a bit in the third preseason game, opting to give second year quarterback Blake Bortles and his first team comrades playing time into the third quarter. That means the starters have played a lot of snaps so far:

"“Our first-team offense has had a lot of plays so far in the preseason. I think that will go into consideration to how much they’ll play going into this game. Same defensively, not as many players as the first-team offense, but we’ll look at their play count compared to what they’ve had in the past.”– Head coach Gus Bradley"

Some teams, especially ones that are younger, usually put their starters in for one series in the final preseason game. While the Jaguars are still young, there’s absolutely no reason to put the first team offense or defense in a precarious position.

The offense has shown more than enough to have confidence in them as we head towards the regular season. The offensive line looks vastly improved and Bortles appears to be much more comfortable behind them. The running game could use some work, but it’s more important to keep that rotation of backs healthy.

Defensively, you’d like to see some more out of the pass rushers, but the Jaguars don’t really have the bodies to risk after the injury to Andre Branch. Go ahead and let guys like Cap Capi go out there and earn a roster spot, but there’s no reason to see any starters playing.

It will make the final preseason game painfully boring, but the Jaguars should let the bottom of the roster take the field right away on Thursday night.

Next: Jaguars ready to own AFC South?

More from Black and Teal

Home/Jacksonville Jaguars News