The Jacksonville Jaguars can't even conduct a fairly uneventful day of mandatory minicamp without giving their fans heart palpitations. Injury scares are always going to frighten a fan base, but star wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. getting banged up before his sophomore season would be a nightmare scenario.
Thomas collided with cornerback Tyson Campbell and was immediately taken off the practice field what what appeared to be a shoulder injury. While this obviously caused some serious uproar among fans, who were wondering if Liam Coen and Trevor Lawrence lost their top wide receiver, Thomas quickly alleviated those concerns.
Thomas would return to practice shortly thereafter, much to the delight of fans who almost saw their star offensive player suffer a serious ailment. Thomas was reportedly standing on the sidelines with his helmet not long after the hit, though trainers were right next to him.
Thomas is integral to what Coen wants to do offensively, and injury would be completely destabilizing. When he jogged back out on that field, apparently avoiding anything major, the collective blood pressure of the entire Jaguars fanbase seemed to drop a few ticks.
Jaguars WR Brian Thomas Jr. suffers injury scare at minicamp
Thomas caught 87 passes for 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns as a rookie despite Doug Pederson coaching him and Lawrence missing half the season due to injuries. With Coen in charge and Lawrence healthy, bigger things are expected from the LSU product now that the offense around him is better.
The Jaguars' passing game will be led by Thomas, but much-hyped No. 2 overall draft pick Travis Hunter and free agent signing Dyami Brown will give Lawrence more than enough targets to get back on track after a nightmare 2024 where everything that could have gone wrong did.
There won't be a Jaguars fan in the world who would be upset with the team if they decided to put Thomas in bubble wrap until the preseason came around. He's too important to this offense. The last thing this team needs as they try to turn the page from their past dysfunction is another injury to a star player.