Thursday saw two Jacksonville Jaguars starting offensive linemen return to practice, albeit in a limited setting, a few days before their Week 2 bout vs. the Kansas City Chiefs.
Right guard Brandon Scherff (ankle) and center Luke Fortner (ankle) were each elevated to limited on Thursday after not practicing on Wednesday. Rookie defensive lineman Tyler Lacy was limited with a hip injury, while safety Antonio Johnson and cornerback Gregory Junior were both held out of practice with hamstring injuries.
Fortner and Scherff have started each of the Jaguars' last 20 games together -- the entirety of the Doug Pederson era. While it remains to be seen if the Jaguars' offensive line will be at 100%, the Jaguars are prepared for contingency plans.
“That’s why we do all that. This is just what happens, it’s Week 1 in the NFL, everybody is probably a little more sore than they were a week ago," Jaguars offensive coordinator Press Taylor said about the versatility of their backup offensive linemen.
"People are banged up so the next man up, they got to be able to play. We really appreciate the versatility of guys being able to play multiple spots. If guys haven’t done that in their careers, we cross-train them to be able to do it for situations like this.”
“It’s certainly a big deal. I don’t know if it necessarily changes the game plan, because two games ago we played these guys," Taylor added about the presence of Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones.
"We’re very aware of who they have and how well they played against us, but anytime they’re adding great players, obviously it ups the challenge a little bit more. We’re certainly aware, we’ll give him the respect he’s due and continue to try to put all our guys in the best position at the right times.”
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