Before the Jacksonville Jaguars began the on-field portion of training camp, they made the decision to place defensive tackle Maason Smith on the Physically Unable to Perform list. This means that he'll miss time, but head coach Liam Coen says there's no reason to worry about his absence.
Coen met with the local media on Day 1 of training camp and said that the decision to place Smith on PUP was precautionary, pointing out that he just suffered a tweak, but it's nothing major.
"Yeah, I don't think extremely long. It's not a major issue. It's a little bit more precautionary, you know, just tweaked it kind of the week of camp. So nothing," Coen responded when asked for an update on Smith (2:07 mark). "He had a great offseason. He worked his tail off. He was here a ton, was in great shape. Worked his tail off. So it was a little bit of a bummer, obviously, but it's a little bit more precautionary. Could he go and play in a game in this week? Who knows? But it won't be too long."
Per league rules, teams can activate players off PUP any time they want before the regular season, but once it starts, they need to miss at least six weeks. Based on Coen's comments, Smith will be ready to go for the opener.
A second-round selection in 2024, Smith got off to a rough start to his rookie campaign. He was a healthy scratch from several bouts early in the season. Compounding the issue is that he dealt with an ankle injury. But a switch flipped and the Louisiana native finished the year strong, logging 11 total pressures and two sacks in the last six games.
On the off chance Smith suffered a setback and had to miss time, DaVon Hamilton would be his most likely replacement. For the time being, second-year defensive tackle Jordan Jefferson will be among those who will get extra reps in training camp.
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Why the Jaguars aren't worrying about Maason Smith
One of the reasons the Jacksonville Jaguars didn't make any major moves at defensive tackle in the offseason was that they expect Maason Smith to make a major leap in Year 2. Heading into the training camp, the former LSU Tiger was getting rave reviews. Couple that with Arik Armstead switching back to the interior, and the Jags are set at the position.
Of course, you would like to see Smith partaking in practice, but as Liam Coen pointed out, he had a strong offseason, so he shouldn't miss a beat.
Ideally, you would want a timeframe of how much time a player is expected to miss, but Jaguars fans shouldn't fret about Maason Smith's absence to start training camp.