One player the Jacksonville Jaguars cannot afford to lose next season is Brian Thomas Jr. That's why everyone held their breath when he collided with teammate Campbell on Day 2 of mandatory minicamp and had to leave practice. Fortunately, he was eventually back on the sidelines, and based on head coach Liam Coen's updates, there's nothing to worry about.
Coen met with the local media after Day 2 of minicamp and said that Thomas is fine, noting that keeping him out of the remainder of practice was just cautionary.
"He's fine. Absolutely could've gone back and played, just bruised it a little bit," Coen said when asked whether Thomas was hurt. "He said he had a great range, strength. He was all good, so no issues, just precautionary."
Later in the exchange, Coen said that if the second-year receiver had truly gotten hurt, he wouldn't have gone back to practice.
"Oh yeah, it was one of them. I mean, he's had both, right? So he's, it's nothing new for him. He's had him a little bit in the past. It's not anything that he, if he didn't come back out, he'd be really hurt. So he was completely cleared to play," Coen said.
Thomas, the fourth receiver taken in last year's draft, is coming off a season in which he hauled in 82 receptions for 1,282 yards with 10 touchdowns. He's expected to be even better with Trevor Lawrence behind center and Travis Hunter drawing coverage away from him. That's why losing him to injury would've been a massive hit for Jacksonville.
The Jaguars will need Brian Thomas Jr. if they want to challenge the Texans
As electrifying as Travis Hunter is, Brian Thomas Jr. is still the team's No. 1 receiver. Heck, cornerback Jourdan Lewis recently praised him, acknowledging that he's one of the best wideouts he's had to go against.
Sure, the Jacksonville Jaguars could lean on Hunter and free-agent acquisition Dyami Brown if they lost Thomas to injury, but they'll need him if they want to have a shot at dethroning the Houston Texans next season. Just recently, the Louisiana native told the local press that he's pushing himself to be better than he was last year.
"Just to come out and be better than I was last year," Thomas told the local media during Organized Team Activities. "I just come out here each and every day and just push myself to be the best that I can be and see where that takes me. So just come out here and be the best that I can be."
Having avoided an injury scare, Brian Thomas Jr. can go back to focusing on being even better in 2025.