From the day he stepped on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice field, Josh Allen has had the support of veteran Calais Campbell. When he was drafted last April, the rookie made it known that he wanted to learn from Campbell and the Jags’ other veterans and it turned out to be a good situation for him in the end.

Despite only starting in four games, Allen was able to achieve great heights as a rookie. He was able to set the Jags’ rookie sack record (10.5), lead all rookies in sacks during the regular season, and become the franchise’s only rookie to make the Pro Bowl.

While attending the annual all-star game, Allen spoke highly of Campbell, who also participated in the Pro Bowl and ended up being the game’s defensive MVP.

“That’s my big brother,” Allen said at the Pro Bowl. “If I see him doing something right, if I see something that I want to do, or something that he’s saying that I can really learn from, I’m going to be there. He’s definitely getting me involved with different players and stuff [at the Pro Bowl], so, that’s real big for myself and just a confidence standard. And he’s definitely hyping me up to a lot of people so now I’ve got to fill the shoes that he made for myself. Just being with him, it’s just an awesome feeling.”

Allen is certainly off to a good start in terms of filling Campbell’s shoes. However, despite that success, Campbell has made it a point of emphasis for the young Jaguar not to get complacent as he’ll be coming up on a crucial 2020 season in which the team must improve.

“I always want to keep him motivated so I’m going to always push him to do better,” Campbell said. “He has a lot he can work on, but for a rookie he did very well. He’s going to continue to get better and I can’t wait to see how good he becomes. I’m always going to push him to be the best he can be, but he had an incredible year.”

There are a lot of issues with the Jags’ roster but one bright spot fans can smile about is Allen. Most fans knew the team was fortunate to land him in April as he was projected to be a top-4 pick. From the moment he touched the field, he looked to part of an elite college player, and the crazy part about it is that he’s just scratching the surface.

As for the brotherhood between Campbell and Allen, the two will have at least one more season together as it appears the Jags are looking to keep the veteran on the last year of his deal. If the Jags can add some help at linebacker and in the interior of the defensive line, we could see the pair have an even stronger campaign as the Jags will look to re-establish the dominance from Campbell’s first year.

With the current collective bargaining agreement set to expire after 2020, there has been a lot of talk about the regular season expanding to 17 games under a new deal, which would be one game more than the current setup. However, many players from Sunday’s Pro Bowl game didn’t seem too thrilled about the possibility, including Jags team captain Calais Campbell.

With him being the Jags’ union representative, ESPN discussed the matter with Campbell this weekend and he told them a 17-game season would be extremely tough on the players as they are already struggling to make it through 16 games.

“When I talk to the guys, I don’t think many people want to do it. Really, you talk to guys and I don’t think anybody wants to do it. It’s going to be very, very tough. I know the ownership’s really hard on it. We’re definitely talking, trying to figure out what we need to do, how we can make this thing work. It’s going to be a process, but 17 [games], that’s very tough.”

The pending decision to add another regular season game (or not), of course, is something the owners are in favor of because it would garner more money. Discussions about ways to make up for playing an extra game like a spike in pay, more guaranteed money, a better revenue split, expanded game-day rosters, an additional bye week, and expanded playoffs are all options that have been weighed per ESPN.

Another big suggestion that has been discussed on the web is eliminating parts of the offseason process. Taking away a preseason game is an idea that has been floated out there but that doesn’t help the regular season starters much because they don’t participate in the process much. That said, shortening organized team activities is a route some have been open to with perhaps an additional bye.

Jags rookie Josh Allen also spoke out on the matter this weekend, too. He stated that adding another regular season game would especially be hard on rookies as they don’t take much time off to transition from playing the college game. With some even attending all-star games like the Senior Bowl or Shrine Game in addition to rookie minicamp and the other offseason events, it would be a ridiculous load for first-year players.

“We’re the ones that are the future, and I feel like if they don’t consider us, if they don’t consider the rookies’ bodies and minds, that’s how guys get lost,” Allen told ESPN. “I guess they say they’re going to pay us more, but my body, my mind comes before money. I think about my family. I think about myself. That means a lot. Mental health is really a serious thing and I feel like that can play a part into that. […] You’ve got all those different things. It’s not just the season. You’ve got OTAs. You’ve got minicamp, training camp. You’ve got preseason. You’ve got all the things, and then rookies don’t have time [to adjust].”