By: Noah Trombley
JACKSONVILLE- Jacksonville Jaguars will open up their preseason this weekend with a home game against the Cleveland Browns. Fans will be flocking to this game from the Jags fan base and the entire league as we get the first glimpse of the number one overall pick and expected future QB of the league, Trevor Lawrence.
However, I don’t expect to see Lawrence much in this game though. Lawrence is still not 100% recovered from surgery on his non-throwing shoulder labrum back in February. In this first week, Coach Urban Meyer will more than likely want to limit the young QB’s reps to make sure Lawrence is comfortable in the offense and keep him protected until he’s fully recovered.
Another injury on the Jaguars that must be discussed is that too wide receiver DJ Chark. Chark suffered a broken finger during practice this last week and needed surgery to repair it. However, according to head coach Urban Meyer, this injury is not severe and will only keep Chark out of the preseason games, and he’ll be ready to go by the season opener. This is fantastic news to hear as Chark was one of the bright spots last year for the Jaguars offense, catching 53 balls for 706 yards and five touchdowns while only starting 12 games last year.
One more thing to look out for in this game is how new head coach Urban Meyer will handle the earlier mentioned injuries and risks. While most coaches face this same problem during the preseason, Meyer has a challenging task before him. This team is young and needs the experience to build chemistry and get the playbooks down and understood. However, Meyer needs to balance this need with the risks of more injuries to his star players. If he adds another injury to a star wide receiver or even to their supposed franchise saving QB, he will have many questions swirling around his ability as an NFL head coach already.
All these factors make for one exciting game on Saturday night, August 14th, way more drama than you would usually see on a preseason game.
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