JAGUARS TO PLAY STARTERS, INCLUDING ROOKIE TRAVIS HUNTER, IN PRESEASON OPENER AGAINST THE STEELERS
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter will make his professional debut playing both sides of the ball.
Jacksonville Jaguars coach Liam Coen said Thursday that Hunter and most of the team’s other starters will play in their preseason opener against Pittsburgh on Saturday night.
“Everybody’s going to play in this game,” Coen said. “A lot of the guys want to play. Two new systems on both sides of the ball. … You can do whatever you want, but everything leans that way in probably being the best thing for our team right now.”
The Steelers have not announced whether they will play any starters. Coen said he planned to connect with Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin later Thursday to share his plan.
Coen said quarterback Trevor Lawrence, center Robert Hainsey and others expressed a desire to be on the field in at least the first preseason game. Lawrence hasn’t taken a snap in a live-ball situation since sustaining a concussion against Houston in early December; he had season-ending shoulder surgery soon thereafter.
“I’ll be excited to get back out there,” Lawrence said. “It’s been a while, so anytime you can play — even preseason — it means something to get on that field.”
Lawrence is learning his third offensive system in five NFL seasons and has two new receivers — including Hunter — as well as two new offensive line starters. The Jaguars even have several new faces on defense, too.
“All of that is kind of what points to (playing),” Coen said. “Look, if we had three (joint practices) and two days of work (within) each of those joints, we probably wouldn’t be playing (starters). That’s just kind of where we’re at. We’ve got to go and probably take advantage of these opportunities.”
All eyes will be on Lawrence and Hunter, who is trying to become the most diverse player in NFL history. The former Colorado star and the second overall pick in the NFL draft is penciled in as a starting slot receiver and a backup cornerback in Jacksonville.
Hunter started switching sides of the ball in practice last week, the latest expansion of his dual role.
“He wants to prove people wrong,” fellow cornerback Jourdan Lewis said. “I feel like that’s the type of mindset you have to have to go and be awesome and a competitor out here. Of course he has all the skillsets, but I think it’s the mental aspect of it that makes him different.
“He’s going to show you. He’s going to try to do it tenfold and put his best foot forward doing both things, and whatever they ask him to do, he’s going to do it at full speed. Like I said, his mental fortitude for it is unmatched.”
STEELERS WILL SIT QB AARON RODGERS, OTHER STARTERS IN PRESEASON OPENER AGAINST JACKSONVILLE
LATROBE, Pa. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers’ debut in Pittsburgh will have to wait.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said the team’s new quarterback and most of its other high-profile starters won’t play when the club opens the preseason in Jacksonville on Saturday.
T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward, Jonnu Smith, DK Metcalf and Jalen Ramsey are also among the group that will watch from the sideline.
“They need less runway to take off, to be honest with you, because of their experience and where they’re at in their careers,” Tomlin said Thursday.
Rodgers, who signed a one-year deal with the Steelers in early June, said Wednesday he was open to making a rare exhibition game appearance. Tomlin doesn’t think it’s required, though he didn’t rule out Rodgers making a cameo on the field later in the preseason.
The first-team offense struggled in the early days of training camp at Saint Vincent College. Tomlin said there’s been a notable “upswing,” a major factor in why he’s in no hurry to rush the NFL’s oldest player into game action.
“I just make judgments based on what I’m looking at,” Tomlin said. “I just feel comfortable with what I’ve seen during this portion of the process that makes me (OK with Rodgers sitting out).”
Rookie quarterback Will Howard is unavailable after injuring his right (throwing) hand on Tuesday. Tomlin described Howard as “week to week,” and said there’s a chance Howard will be available at some point later this month.
The Steelers signed well-traveled backup quarterback Logan Woodside to pick up some of the reps with Howard out. Woodside has a long relationship with Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. The two were together in Tennessee in 2019 and 2020 when Smith was the Titans’ offensive coordinator. Woodside also spent time in Atlanta during Smith’s three-year tenure as Falcons’ head coach.
There’s a chance Woodside could be available to play against the Jaguars, though the bulk of the snaps will likely be split between veteran Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson.
MAHOMES, CHIEFS STARTERS TO PLAY IN PRESEASON OPENER AGAINST CARDINALS
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is glad that coach Andy Reid is sending him onto the field with the rest of their starters when Kansas City visits the Arizona Cardinals for their preseason opener Saturday night.
“I don’t necessarily look forward to getting hit,” Mahomes added with a smile Thursday.
Getting hit is exactly why some teams have eschewed playing starters at all in the preseason. When coaches finally decided it wasn’t worth the risk to their most valuable players, they began sitting them for one or two games, and last year, teams such as the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles sat them for the entirety of their exhibition slate.
That has never been Reid’s preference, though. Nor has it been that of Mahomes, who believes it does him some good to get hit — once, at least — so that he can get into the right mindset for the rest of the preseason and ultimately the regular season.
“There’s always a little shock,” Mahomes said.
Now, don’t get any misconceptions. The Chiefs might only have those starters on the field for a single series in Arizona, especially if it goes well. But the plan, at least after their final practice before their opener, was that each quarterback will get a full quarter — Mahomes the first, Gardner Minshew the second, Bailey Zappe the third and Chris Oladokun the fourth.
The rest of the offense would presumably follow suit.
There are certainly things that the three-time defending AFC champions want to see out of their preseason opener. Tops on the list is their new-look offense line, where first-round pick Josh Simmons has already turned some heads as the new left tackle and Kingsley Suamataia has the inside track on replacing two-time All-Pro Joe Thuney at left guard.
The Chiefs have invested heavily in their offensive line, both in draft capital and financial resources, over the past couple years, and the need to upgrade the left side in particular became evident in their Super Bowl loss in February.
There is also some competition for the final spots at wide receiver, and some different names could get some extended looks with the first-team offense. That’s because Rashee Rice is sidelined with a groin injury and Marquise Brown with an ailing ankle.
“I think (my advice) is go out there and do what they’re doing this camp,” Mahomes said. “It’s going to be a bigger stage going up against another team, but I think Coach Reid prepares us better than anybody else in the league to go out there and play your best football. We practice hard and we practice fast so when it gets to the game, it’s not that huge step up.”
It’s still a substantial one, especially given Arizona is taking the same approach as Kansas City this year.
Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon, who held out quarterback Kyler Murray and others his first two years and barely played any starters in the preseason last year, said this week, “I told them (Monday) night that they are going to play.”
“It’s the best thing for our team this year, honestly,” Gannon explained. “We are at a good point with our health, we’re at a good point with our development, and I think this year with our team it’s the best thing to do for our guys.”
NOTES: Hall of Fame WR Terrell Owens watched the Chiefs practice at Missouri Western on Thursday. He played two seasons for Reid in Philadelphia. “Just watching people grow, I’m in a great position to see that,” Reid said. … Former Raiders coach Antonio Pierce also has been in camp, helping longtime friend and Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. “Maybe we’ll ask him about some Las Vegas Raiders stuff,” Spagnuolo said with a smile. … CB Kristian Fulton (knee) came off the PUP list and took part in individual drills Thursday. LB Drue Tranquill (back) also returned to practice.
AARON GLENN WILL PLAY JUSTIN FIELDS AND THE JETS’ STARTERS IN THE PRESEASON OPENER AGAINST PACKERS
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Justin Fields and the rest of the New York Jets’ starters will play for at least some of the team’s preseason opener at Green Bay on Saturday night.
“We’re playing,” coach Aaron Glenn said Thursday after the team’s final full practice before the game against the Packers. “I can’t tell you how much guys are going to play. That’s going to be affected by how the game goes, but we’re playing.”
Many teams typically sit most of their starters for the first preseason game, something the Jets’ most recent previous regimes often did. But Glenn wants to see his players on the field during a game after more than two weeks of training camp.
“Because I want to play,” Glenn said when asked for his reasoning to play the starters. “That’s the reason. I want our guys to play. That’s the reason.”
And the first-year head coach also wants the final score of his debut to be in the Jets’ favor.
“Every time we go on the grass, the first thing I expect is to win, I do,” Glenn said. “But I expect to win in ways that we really talk about trying to create during camp. And everything that we talk about trying to build, as far as how we’re trying to get this team to operate, I want to make sure that’s showing up on the tape.”
The decision by Glenn was expected by his players, who figured that would be the case from the way the coach has run practices during camp.
“I mean, if y’all look, we’ve been tackling in practice,” cornerback Sauce Gardner said. “So I was pretty sure that he was going to want us to be able to tackle another team, you know? So I’m embracing that and I’m looking forward to it, but I definitely was not surprised. None of us was surprised when he said that.”
Gardner played in the preseason opener as a rookie after being the fourth overall pick in the 2022 draft, but hadn’t done so the last two summers.
“I love football, like, you know, I’m obsessed with football,” Gardner said. “So any chance that I’ve got to play, I am always going to, like, love the idea of it.”
Having the starters play will give Glenn and the coaching staff an even better idea of where Fields and the Jets’ passing offense — which has mostly struggled through camp — is at this point.
Fields, in his first season with New York, bounced back from a few subpar practices with a solid showing Thursday. He was unofficially 8 of 14, including a pass that deflected off tight end Jeremy Ruckert’s hands and was intercepted, and had a pretty touchdown toss to Garrett Wilson.
“Man, he’s a very mature person,” Glenn said of Fields. “And listen, he understands the highs and lows of this game and there’s so much outside noise to try to beat him down. And he’s so mature and he doesn’t allow that to be a factor in how he’s going to go about his business.
“He understands the noise. It’s just part of the business, a part of being a quarterback, so he can’t hide from that. And I’m proud of him.”
Bad memory
Aaron Glenn recalled his first preseason game with the Jets as a rookie in 1994 with a bit of anxiety.
“I don’t want to really talk about it. It wasn’t good,” he said, drawing laughs from reporters. “It was against Philly. Herschel Walker was a personal protector and I was catching punts. To see a 240-pound man just streaking down the field right at you trying to catch a punt, that’s not a pretty sight.
“So I tried to wipe that memory out of my mind. But you just brought it up, so.”
Injuries
Defensive tackle Byron Cowart has an ankle injury that will sideline him for the preseason game.
Among those previously ruled out were defensive tackle Quinnen Williams (calf), rookie tight end Mason Taylor (high ankle sprain), left guard John Simpson (back), backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor (knee) and special teams ace Kris Boyd (shoulder).
NFL PLAYERS CAN STILL USE SMELLING SALTS AS LONG AS NOT PROVIDED BY TEAMS
NFL players will be allowed to use “smelling salts” during games after all.
The NFLPA sent a memo to players on Wednesday saying that the ban that the league informed teams about on Tuesday only prohibits team employees from distributing smelling salts and any other ammonia inhalant during pregame activities, games and halftime on the sideline or locker rooms.
“The NFL Players Association is aware of the memo issued by the league Tuesday regarding the use of smelling salts and ammonia capsules,” said the memo to players, which was obtained by The Associated Press. “We were not notified of this club policy change before the memo was sent out. To clarify, this policy does not prohibit player use of these substances, but rather it restricts clubs from providing or supplying them in any form. The NFL has confirmed this to us.”
The memo from the league prohibited any club personnel from providing or supplying products such as ammonia capsules, inhalers, ammonia in a cup, and any form of “smelling salts.” The league cited a warning issued from the Food and Drug Administration in 2024 that there was no evidence citing the “safety or efficacy” of the products and that they have the potential to mask symptoms of concussions.
Smelling salts and other similar products have been a staple on NFL sidelines for years with many players believing they can provide a sudden jolt of energy or alertness.
SHEDEUR’S SHOT: BROWNS’ QB MESS OPENS DOOR JUST A CRACK FOR ROOKIE
There is an optimistic way to view the crowded quarterback room of the Cleveland Browns.
They have a former Super Bowl MVP. They have a recent first-round draft pick. They have the all-time leader in touchdown passes among Division I players. And they have a guy who was, in the lead-up to April’s draft, widely considered to be among the top picks.
Unfortunately for the Browns, there are some complicating factors.
Joe Flacco is 40 years old and won his Super Bowl 13 years ago. He went 2-4 with the Colts last season and, in that limited time, took 18 sacks.
Kenny Pickett, the former first-round pick, has thrown for more than 300 yards in a game exactly once in his career: his second start with Pittsburgh, a game the Steelers lost to the Buffalo Bills by 35 points. The Browns are his third team in four seasons.
Dillon Gabriel, who holds the record with 155 college touchdown passes, was considered undersized as a pro prospect. Cleveland took him with the 94th pick in the draft after the rest of the league had passed on him at least twice.
And Shedeur Sanders – the Colorado standout who at some points last year was considered a possible top-three draft pick – plummeted all the way to the fifth round, at least partly over concerns about his attitude and the outsized influence of his father and college coach, Deion Sanders.
None of these quarterbacks come without concerns, to put it politely. And that’s before mentioning the most grim element of Cleveland’s quarterback picture: the injured Deshaun Watson, still on the hook for a massive salary-cap hit in 2026 even though his time with the Browns appears to be done. He’ll be remembered as the rare time someone was in the discussion for the worst trade of all time and the worst contract of all time. History made.
So, yes, things in Northeast Ohio could be better.
Fascinatingly, it’s Shedeur Sanders, the 23-year-old rookie, who’s likely to get the start in Cleveland’s first preseason game – although it’s mostly by default.
Flacco is the presumed regular-season starter after he played well in head coach Kevin Stefanski’s offense as an off-the-street emergency addition in the latter half of the 2024 season. But he doesn’t need to see the field much in the preseason, and Stefanski prefers to rest his planned starters until later in training camp anyway.
Pickett and Gabriel, meanwhile, are both nursing injuries, and there’s plenty of camp left for them to audition for roles with the Browns. That leaves Sanders, who has more to prove this summer than almost any player on any team. Depending on who you believe, his unprecedented draft slide was the result of skepticism about his physical tools, teams not wanting to deal with the noise potentially created by his outspoken father, or decision-makers being alarmed by his casual approach to predraft interviews. Maybe it was a little of all three.
Whatever the cause, Sanders spent literal days languishing at the top of “Best Available” boards. All he can do now is try to show the Browns they ended up with a late-round steal. Whether he’ll get a legitimate opportunity to do that is another question. Because Stefanski wants to keep his likely starters out of harm’s way, Sanders will lead something like the third-string offense against the Carolina Panthers in Cleveland’s preseason opener Friday night. Instead of trying to build chemistry with targets like Jerry Jeudy and David Njoku, Sanders will be throwing to depth receivers who, like him, might not even be on the Browns a month from now.
This would be business as usual for a fifth-round draft pick except for the fact that Sanders is already a high-profile player – not just because of his famous dad, but also because his NFL potential has been under discussion for years, especially when his Colorado team was (briefly) the talk of the college game. His ceiling as a professional appeared to collapse in brutal fashion over a couple of days in April, but it remains possible that the Browns, truly one of the NFL’s snakebitten franchises, stumbled on a winning lottery ticket in that draft. Some experts continued loudly, and desperately, insisting that Sanders was a future NFL star even as his name went uncalled.
The Browns have done little to encourage that view, listing Sanders fourth on the team’s initial quarterback depth chart and having him spend most of his practice time with the third-string offense over the first couple of weeks of camp.
Sanders, to his credit, has taken the role he’s been given, telling Cleveland reporters that he’s trying to put in the work to get where he “wants to go.” He also told his father not to visit him at camp, saying he didn’t want Deion to come just to watch him get a few reps with the scout team.
At this point, it seems like a long shot, but if Shedeur Sanders is going to get where he wants to go, the journey begins Friday night in Charlotte.
CHARGERS STAR LT RASHAWN SLATER CARTED OFF FIELD
Los Angeles Chargers left tackle Rashawn Slater was carted off the practice field on Thursday with what appeared to be an injury to his left leg, The Athletic reported.
Slater was embraced by several teammates after he left the field.
A two-time Pro Bowl selection, Slater signed a four-year, $114 million contract extension on July 27 that included $92 million guaranteed to become the highest-paid offensive lineman in history at $28.5 million per season.
Slater, 26, was a first-round pick (13th overall) by the Chargers in the 2021 NFL Draft and is entering the final year of his rookie deal. He will earn a base salary of $2 million, a signing bonus of $29 million and a roster bonus of $7 million this season.
Slater has started all 51 of the games in which he has played for the Chargers, including 15 last season.
He was limited to just three games in 2022 due to a ruptured biceps tendon. He made the Pro Bowl in 2021 and 2024 and was named Second Team All-Pro in 2021.
STEELERS SIGN OL ANDRUS PEAT, QB LOGAN WOODSIDE
The Pittsburgh Steelers signed veteran offensive lineman Andrus Peat and journeyman quarterback Logan Woodside to one-year deals on Thursday.
Peat, 31, was a first-round pick (13th overall) by New Orleans in 2015 and was selected to three straight Pro Bowls with the Saints from 2018-20.
Peat has started 103 of his 126 regular season games with the Saints (2015-23) and Las Vegas Raiders (2024). He has primarily played left guard.
Woodside, 30, was a seventh-round pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2018. He has appeared in 13 games (no starts) with the Tennessee Titans (2020-21) and Atlanta Falcons (2022-23), completing 4 of 7 passes for 34 yards and one interception.
The Steelers waived long snapper Tucker Addington and guard Nick Broeker to make room on their training camp roster.
TEXANS S C.J. GARDNER-JOHNSON CARTED OFF WITH LEG INJURY
Houston Texans safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson suffered a right leg injury in practice on Thursday and was carted off the field.
Houston television station KRPC2 reported the injury appeared to be to his right knee and an MRI will be done to determine the full extent. He was unable to put weight on the leg before departing, according to the report.
The injury occurred as Gardner-Johnson attempted to tackle wide receiver John Metchie III.
Players gathered around the safety and took a knee as medical personnel helped him on the field at the training camp site in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.
Gardner-Johnson, 27, is in his first season with Texans, traded by the Philadelphia Eagles after winning Super Bowl LIX last season.
He was listed on the depth chart the Texans released earlier this week as a starter at safety.
A 2019 fourth-round draft pick of the New Orleans Saints, he joined the Eagles in 2022, played for the Detroit Lions in 2023 and rejoined Philadelphia last season.
In 16 games (all starts) with Philadelphia last season, Gardner-Johnson made six interceptions, returning one 69 yards for a touchdown, and defended 12 passes. He added a forced fumble and 59 tackles.
In 74 career games (61 starts), he has 18 interceptions, 304 tackles, four sacks and 51 passes defensed.
The Texans open the regular season on Sept. 7 against the Los Angeles Rams in Inglewood, Calif.
BILLS WR KHALIL SHAKIR (ANKLE) ON TRACK FOR WEEK 1 RETURN
Buffalo Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir should return from an ankle injury in time for the season opener, coach Sean McDermott said Thursday.
Shakir, 25, has been considered day-to-day since sustaining a right high-ankle sprain in practice last Friday. He is likely to miss all three preseason games.
Shakir posted career highs in receptions (76), targets (100), receiving yards (821) and touchdown catches (four) in 15 games last season.
He has 125 catches for 1,593 yards and seven TDs in 46 games (21 starts) since the Bills drafted him in the fifth round in 2022 out of Boise State.
Buffalo opens the preseason Saturday against the visiting New York Giants. The regular season kicks off on Sept. 7 at home against the Baltimore Ravens.
