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Jaguars News | Jacksonville Jaguars - jaguars.com

OTA 1: Ramsey, Albert not present

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JACKSONVILLE – Doug Marrone doesn't yet know how to feel about this team, and know this:

The Jaguars' head coach doesn't expect that to change during the no-pads, no-contact work that will make up the final four weeks of the 2017 offseason program.

That was one takeaway from Day One of Jaguars 2017 OTAs Tuesday at EverBank Field, and another was that two players – tackle Branden Albert and cornerback Jalen Ramsey – opted against attending the voluntary session.

Albert's absence was expected, with the veteran not yet having attended the offseason program after being acquired in a trade with the Miami Dolphins in March.

The news on Albert: He and Marrone have been in contact, something that was not the case during Jaguars rookie minicamp two weeks ago. Albert, a 10-year veteran, reportedly is seeking a new contract.

"Branden, we've communicated," Marrone said. "I just told him to give me a heads up before he comes back and he hasn't given me a heads up, so I wouldn't assume that he's coming back."

Marrone said he did not know beforehand that Ramsey did not plan to attend Tuesday.

"I know he had a bunch of things going on last week," Marrone said. "I didn't hear anything about today, so I'm sure he'll probably give me a shout or test me. He's done that. …

"With Jalen, I know he had a bunch of stuff going on last week. He communicated that. I thought he would be here today, but I haven't heard anything. I can't speak for him. I am lost. He has communicated and (we'll see if it) does come around."

Linebacker Telvin Smith also missed practice, but he was at EverBank Field Tuesday and Marrone said he has been participating regularly throughout the offseason.

"We know about his situation," Marrone said, adding, "That one was fine."

All OTAs and other offseason activities under NFL rules are voluntary except for a three-day mandatory minicamp. The Jaguars' mandatory minicamp will be held June 13-15.

"You worry about the things you can control," Marrone said. "I'll just say: when you get a chance to practice, whether it's voluntarily or however you want to describe it, you'd like everyone to be here and everyone practicing with a chance to get better as a team and give you a better opportunity to win.

"You just wish you could get all of that done, and there's a lot that goes into that: practice schedules, conditioning, being ready to go."

A few other takeaways from Marrone's media availability Tuesday:

*Jaguars OTAs this offseason won't feature daily injury updates. While several players including four front-line cornerbacks missed practice Tuesday, Marrone – in his first season as head coach – said he didn't plan to extensively discuss injuries during the offseason. "I'm not really going to talk about it unless it's something that is going to affect us for training camp," Marrone said. "We expect as of right now we should be in good shape and have those guys back." Among players not practicing Tuesday: cornerback Aaron Colvin, cornerback A.J. Bouye, safety Tashaun Gipson, safety Barry Church, running back T.J. Yeldon, defensive end Dawuane Smoot and tight end Neal Sterling. …

*Marrone clearly believes there's a limit to what you learn from teams during OTAs. When discussing how comfortable he was with the offensive line in Albert's absence, he said, "I don't know if I feel comfortable with anything right now. From being out there, whether it be the line or it be anything else, I think we have a long way to go. I know you can get better, I just don't know how much better you can get during this time of year when you're not playing with full pads or anything of that nature. … We won't really know if we can fully execute as what's expected of us until we start practicing with helmets and shoulder pads and going live." ….

*The Jaguars are preparing for the possibility of Albert nor reporting, and they're working through a lot of possibilities on the offensive line. "Obviously, we're preparing for that," Marrone said. "I think you have to do that." Marrone also reiterated something he said early this offseason – that the team will work different combinations on the offensive line this offseason before deciding on a starting group. …

*A focus of Marrone's this offseason will be conditioning. Noting Tuesday's overcast conditions, he said, "I just hope because of the weather I don't have a false indication of where we are as far as in shape. I think you have to build the players up football-wise." …

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