When the NFL dropped the schedule for the 2026 season, nearly everyone mostly focused on every team's release video. Heck, the Jacksonville Jaguars were the talk of the league because Trevor Lawrence seemingly cut his hair (it turned out to be a ruse), while the Indianapolis Colts hit it out of the ballpark with their Simpsons-theme announcement. That said, one thing flew under the radar, and that was that the league also dropped the slate of preseason games.
Unless your team plays in the Hall-of-Fame game, it will get three games. That's how it's been since the league expanded the regular season to 17 contests. That means that every club gets one fewer week to prepare, but leave it to the Jags to come up with a savvy idea to get the most out of the limited preparation time.
The Jaguars are open to doing one-day joint practices in the preseason
Ryan O'Halloran of The Florida Times-Union reports that the Jaguars are open to doing one-day joint practices with all three of their preseason opponents. On a later tweet, he adds that they could hold out most of their key guys for all three preseason games without having to worry about their readiness.
The Jags are scheduled to play the New Orleans Saints, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Carolina Panthers (three NFC South teams) in the preseason. Of course, it takes two to tango, but having joint practices with all three would most definitely be huge.
Think about it, the coaching staff could give first-team reps to the starters and players vying for feature roles, and then scout the rest of the roster (fringe players, etc.) during the preseason while keeping their main guys fresh.
There will be several intriguing Jaguars storylines in the preseason
You could make the case that the preseason is meaningless because the outcome of the game doesn't count in the standings, but the truth is that it allows teams to assess their players. In the Jaguars' case, they'll have a better idea of how a handful of players are recovering (safety Caleb Ransaw, Travis Hunter). On top of that, they'll probably be monitoring several key battles.
Rookie Emmanuel Pregnon and Wyatt Milum could challenge starters Patrick Mekari and Ezra Cleveland for starting jobs on the offensive line. Similarly, sophomore safety Caleb Ransaw will try to make a push to earn a starting role in the secondary. On the other hand, undrafted free agent J'Mari Taylor could push running back DeeJay Dallas out of the team's plans.
Another battle to keep an eye on will be for the WR5 role. The Jags have Hunter, Parker Washington, Jakobi Meyers, and Brian Thomas Jr. in the mix. Who'll be the No. 5? Josh Cameron or CJ Williams, could Jacksonville allocate six slots to the position?
The truth is that the Jaguars will use the preseason to put together the best possible roster for the 2026 season, and getting to hold joint practices will only optimize the process.
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