Jacksonville Jaguars: NFL says “No” to joint practices

The Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will not hold joint practices this preseason, per the NFL league office.

Because of the threat of the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the NFL league office has decided that all 32 teams, including the Jacksonville Jaguars, will hold their own practices as team facilities.

What this means for Jacksonville is the joint practices that were planned with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this preseason are now canceled. That means the team will only see the Buccaneers’ new quarterback Tom Brady during the second week of the preseason, if then.

The Jaguars and the Buccaneers held joint practices here at TIAA Bank Field two years ago.

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"As David Newton of ESPN.com wrote, “NFL teams must hold training camps this summer at their main practice facilities because of the coronavirus pandemic, commissioner Roger Goodell told all 32 organizations in a memo [this past] Tuesday obtained by ESPN.”"

The Jacksonville Jaguars as an organization is still swimming in unchartered waters because of the pandemic. They are using a virtual offseason to install a new offense for Gardner Minshew and the team and a new defensive scheme as players and coaches have worked through classroom-like activities to retain as much information as they can before they are allowed on the practice fields.

It is the same for the other 31 teams in the fraternity that are waiting to make thing happen in a live simulation.

"“The NFLPA was strongly in favor of these two decisions, which were made to limit exposure risks by avoiding the need for clubs to clean and maintain two facilities, by limiting the need for players and club staffs to travel to another location (sometimes located at a considerable distance from the home facility), and by limiting travel and contact between players on different clubs in the context of joint practices,” Goodell said in the memo. “These steps are being taken for the 2020 preseason to address the current conditions and are not expected to be in place in 2021.”"

This would have been the second time in the last four seasons the Jacksonville Jaguars would have held a joint practice with Brady. In 2017, the team flew to Boston to hold joint practices with the New England Patriots prior to the regular season.

The Jaguars won that game but lost the AFC Title game in at Gillette Stadium.

The decision by the NFL means teams that would normally hold their training camps at other locations will not be allowed to use those facilities as well.