While Jaguars fans are excited to get their first real look at their team on Thursday night, they will not get a chance to see some of the team’s more familiar faces.
It was announced earlier this week that Jaguars starting quarterback David Garrard would sit out on Thursday night as he recovers from a back injury he suffered in practice last week.
On Tuesday, Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio announced that starters Maurice Jones-Drew, Aaron Kampman and Marcedes Lewis would also not play when his team plays the Patriots on Thursday.
Jones-Drew and Kampman have been limited in practice so far in training camp as both are coming back from knee injuries they suffered in 2010, so it is no surprise that these two veterans won’t play this week. Lewis is healthy, however, he has only been practicing with the team for a couple of days since signing his new long-term contract on Friday.
Overall it is not a big deal that these four veterans will not be playing in the Jaguars first preseason game, as the coaching staff already knows what roles these guys will play when the regular season begins. Making sure these guys are healthy when it counts is more important than seeing them play one or two series in a meaningless game in the beginning of August.
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