3 things to keep an eye on in the Jacksonville Jaguars 2023 preseason

1. The Jaguars need to rest the starters in the 2023 preseason

The preseason gives fringe players the chance to compete for a roster spot. Last year, wide receiver Tim Jones' preseason heroics helped him make the team. While he disappeared once the regular season started, he wouldn't have been on the roster had he not shown out in the preseason.

On the other hand, there aren't many good reasons to give projected starters too much playing time. The Jaguars aren't changing schemes, so there's no need for returning players to get extra reps. The last thing the Jaguars would want is to see Trevor Lawrence get hurt because he stayed on the field for too long.

Similarly, it doesn't make too much sense to give running back Travis Etienne an extended workload. He needs to stay fresh for the regular season while rookie Tank Bigsby, D'Ernest Johnson and JaMycal Hasty would benefit from the extra snaps.

The one player that could benefit from getting playing time in the preseason is wide receiver Calvin Ridley, who hasn't suited up in more than a year and might need to adjust to the speed of the game. Then again, he should work on his timing with Lawrence and get a robust amount of reps in training camp, so there's an equal chance he will only play in a couple of series.

It's also worth noting that the Jaguars came out of the draft with 13 players and then signed several more that didn't get their name call. Most of them would benefit from getting lots on work in the preseason and without many holes in the starting lineup, the Jags are better off giving ample time to the rookies and sitting the starters.