Big Cat Country
Fans of the Jacksonville Jaguars have gotten their wish.
Head coach Liam Coen, in his post-practice media availability at Day 12 of training camp, confirmed that the team has decided to play their starters for Saturday’s 7 P.M. preseason opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Over the past week, team leadership had been mum on the subject as they continued to evaluate their stance. However, Coen confirmed that his players’ desires to play partially contributed to the decision to allow them those snaps. Coen specifically pointed out center Robert Hainsey and quarterback Trevor Lawrence as players who expressed their desires to play, among others.
“[Hainsey] was one of the guys that kind of convinced me, actually. Came into the weight room the other day on the day off, and we talked about it, and he wanted to play. A lot of the guys want to play. You’ve got two new systems on both sides of the ball, and the one joint [practice] … kind of everything leans that way, to it probably being the best thing for our team right now.”
“Trevor called me the other night, and we talked about it as well on the ride home a little bit. I appreciate that and definitely more of what you’re looking for in terms of the communication and the ability to be honest and have a real conversation. Ultimately, those guys have a pulse so much more for what the locker room is than I do on a daily basis. That’s just the reality. So, it was good to hear from those guys.”
Additionally, Coen provided confirmation that Travis Hunter would play on both sides of the ball in this matchup. Coen noted that he has not yet confirmed how many drives or snaps the guys will play, as that may be fluid, based on performance.
“We will play everybody. So, how long that is, we’ll kind of determine how things are going a little bit. Everybody’s going to play in this game.”
Coen also noted that the offseason installation of the playbook has been completed.
“We don’t play for a month, so you’ve got now the install is in, we’re done with the installs on both sides of the ball. So now, for the next three weeks, we can hone those fundamentals, techniques, concepts and schemes, and also play with rotations.”
Meanwhile, the Steelers subsequently announced that several of their starters — including defensive end T.J. Watt, quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and wide receiver DK Metcalf — would not play in Jacksonville for Week 1 of the 2025 preseason.
You can catch the full Liam Coen and Jourdan Lewis’ full media availability here.
