You know the regular season is inching closer when training camp begins, and guess what? The Jacksonville Jaguars are set to start training camp in just a few days. Rookies had to show up on July 21 and veterans are next on the 25th. Moreover, they'll get to use Miller Electric Center, which was just inaugurated.
While some Jaguars will try to build on last year's success, others will be competing for a roster spot. Either way, there are many reasons to be hyped up about training camp, including the next five.
No. 5 The Jaguars are mostly healthy ahead of training camp
Let's get it out of the way. Nobody likes to see a player go down with injuries but teams have to be prepared for them. The good news is that the Jaguars have enough depth in case they need to be without some of their star players. Even better, they're relatively healthy ahead of training camp.
The Jags avoided the injury bug early in the 2022 season and remained as healthy as a football team can be the rest of the way. Although they lost cornerback, Shaquill Griffin, outside linebacker K'Lavon Chaisson, and left guard Ben Bartch, most of their playmakers managed to make it to the playoffs.
Griffin is now with the Houston Texans and Bartch was just placed on the Active/Physically Unable to perform list. However, the Jags aren't dealing with many major injuries ahead of training camp and should be able to pick up where they left off last year if they can manage to stay healthy.
No. 4 Walker Little proving he can be Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence's blindside protector
One of the biggest developments worth keeping an eye on in training camp is Walker Little's adjustment to playing left tackle. With Cam Robinson expected to sit out four games while he serves a suspension for violations to the PED policy, Little will step in his place.
A second-round pick in 2021, Little competed with Jawaan Taylor for the starting job at right tackle last year but ended up losing. He started the season on the bench but the Jags plugged him in on the left side when Robinson sustained a meniscus injury.
Little ended up making three starts in the regular season and two in the playoffs. He will now have a chance to permanently seize the job and there are reasons to believe he's capable of doing so.
For starters, Little was one of the top collegiate prospects back in 2018 and if he hadn't suffered a season-ending injury in 2019, he would have probably been a top-10 pick in the draft the following year. He decided to return to Stanford in 2020 but later chose to opt out due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Having not played in nearly two years hurt his draft stock and ended up sliding to Round 2.
It's worth noting that Little fared particularly well at right tackle even though he had never lined up there, and if he had had more experience, he might have unseated Taylor. Now, the Texans native won't have to compete with anyone and will have a clear path to show everyone that he should be Trevor Lawrence's blindside protector for the foreseeable future.
No. 3 Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence will connect with Calvin Ridley and other WRs
Wide receiver Calvin Ridley hasn't played a football game since 2021 but that shouldn't stop him from having a huge impact in his first season with the Black and Tea. Ridley, a first-round selection in the 2018 draft, retired in 2021 to focus on his mental health. He later revealed that he also had a broken foot and tried to play through it. Anyway, not long after he retired, he violated the league's gambling policy.
The Alabama product ended up getting an indefinite suspension, which forced him to miss the 2022 season and was reinstated in March. Even though he hadn't played in a while, he stayed in shape, so it wasn't particularly shocking to make a strong impression during offseason workouts with the Jags. In training camp, he'll have the chance to put his talent on full display.
Ridley won't be the only player catching passes from Trevor Lawrence. Calvin Ridley, Zay Jones, and tight end Evan Engram will also return after an outstanding 2022 campaign. All of them posted career numbers last year and there's no reason to think they can have similar production next season.
With the addition of Ridley to the offense, don't be surprised if Lawrence takes deep shots more often. Similarly, it will be exciting to see him spread the ball around and showcase his arm talent. Sure, it will be great to see Lawrence sling the pigskin in the regular season but training camp will give everyone a glimpse of what Lawrence and the Jaguars offense are capable of doing.
No. 2 The Jaguars won't have any holdouts in training camp
With one day to go before the deadline to get a long-term deal done, the Jags and tight end Evan Engram struck a three-year contract worth $42.5 million. Had they not been able to reach an agreement, he would have played the 2023 season under the franchise tag and made $11.345 this year.
No longer having to worry about contract talks, Engram can now fully focus on the 2023 season. Similarly, the Jags have checked off a box on their to-do list and can feel good knowing they won't have any holdouts this year, unlike the New York Giants, the Las Vegas Raiders, and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Josh Jacobs, Saquon Barkley, and defensive tackle Chris Jones are currently holding out and while there's a good chance they'll all join their respective teams, their absence could potentially have a negative impact.
Make no mistake, teams deal with holdouts the way they treat injuries — they roll with the next guy in line — but not having their star players for practice at a time when it's imperative to develop chemistry and rapport can potentially become a distraction.
The Jaguars don't have to deal with any of that. Heck, they just brought back defensive end Dawuane Smoot on a one-year deal, and the team's brass doesn't have any pressing contracts to take care of. Outside linebacker Josh Allen and wide receiver Calvin Ridley are set to be free agents next offseason.
Similarly, Trevor Lawrence is eligible for a contract extension in 2024 but Jacksonville has ample time to decide how they'll proceed. For the time being, holdouts won't be an issue at Jaguars training camp.
No. 1 The Jaguars will build on from last year's success in training camp
Urban Meyer left the Jaguars in a state of disarray and that's saying something when you take into account that he took over a team that went 1-15 the season before he arrived. During his short stint, he built an enviroment of distrust and used intimidation tactics to "motivate" his players. This led to his dismisal less than a year after getting hired.
To repair the morale, the Jaguars knew they didn't need someone who knew Xs and Os but rather a leader of man, a coach that could connect with players and put them in a position to succeed. The organization ultimately zeroed in on Doug Pederson after an extensive search, and while he's only been one season at the helm, he's off to a great start.
Right off the bat, the coach known as Pug Dederson said that his priority was to gain his players' trust and believed that was key if the Jaguars wanted to turn things around. His players responded to his approach and he had them rallying behind him just a few months after he landed in Jacksonville.
Even though the Jags were off to a slow start last season, they picked up steam and went 7-1 in their last eight games. They ended up making the playoffs and winning the AFC South, a pair of great accomplishments for a team that had won a combined 15 games the previous four years.
Now, Pederson has his sight set on bigger things and you will be hard-pressed to find a players that isn't thrilled to suit up for him. If the Jaguars manage to make the most of training camp and get to a solid start to the 2023 season, they'll have the chance to accomplish huge things.