Alongside 29 other teams, the Jacksonville Jaguars will be reporting to training camp on Tuesday, July 28. This comes after the NFL and NFLPA reached an agreement on how they will adjust the Collective Bargaining Agreement due to COVID-19.
One of the issues that were included with those adjustments were each team’s practice schedule, and for those who return to the field Tuesday like the Jags, their first padded practices won’t occur until August 17. That’s less than a month away from the Jags’ first game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sept. 13.
Per sources, camp timeline in the NFL's proposal …
Day 1: Testing/virtual meetings.
Days 2-3: Virtual meetings.
Day 4: Testing/virtual meetings.
Days 5-6: Physicals.
Days 7-15: Strength and conditioning (with a day off.)
Day 16: Practice starts.
Day 21: First padded practice.— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) July 24, 2020
This new adjustment to the CBA will include a limit of 14 padded practices, so the coaching staff is going to have to make them count for evaluations as there will be no preseason. The adjustment will also cause teams to maybe start off the regular season slow, and in the Jags’ case, they can’t afford that. At the same time, fans can’t blame players for not wanting to rush to the practice field, too.
There is no doubt the upcoming preseason process will be unique for the Jags and all teams. However, the coaches in the league are going to have to make it work, even those who are coming up on a crucial year like Doug Marrone.