BALTIMORE, Md. – It will be a night about the backups.
That became clear a little more than an hour before kickoff of Thursday's preseason opener against the Baltimore Ravens, with the Jaguars announcing 32 players weren't expected to play. The list included most projected starters.
Jaguars offensive players not expected to play:
*Quarterback Nick Foles; wide receivers Terrelle Pryor Sr., Marqise Lee, Dede Westbrook, DJ Chark Jr., Marcus Simms and Chris Conley; running backs Leonard Fournette, Roc Thomas, Thomas Rawls and Benny Cunningham; center Brandon Linder; guard Andrew Norwell; right tackle Jawaan Taylor; left tackle Cam Robinson; tackle Cedric Ogbuehi; and tight end Josh Oliver. Pryor, Lee, Cunningham, Rawls, Thomas, Robinson, Taylor, Simms and Oliver were held out for injury reasons.
Jaguars defensive players made inactive:
*Cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey, A.J. Bouye and D.J. Hayden; safeties Jarrod Wilson, Ronnie Harrison and Cody Davis; linebackers Myles Jack, Quincy Williams, James Onwualu and Jake Ryan; tackle Abry Jones and Marcell Dareus; and ends Yannick Ngakoue, Lerentee McCray, Calais Campbell. Bouye, Davis, Ryan, Williams and Onwualu were held out for injury reasons.
Jaguars rookie sixth-round selection Gardner Minshew is expected to start at quarterback, and rookie edge defender Josh Allen – the No. 7 overall selection in the 2019 NFL Draft – also is expected to play. Defensive tackle Taven Bryan, the Jaguars' 2018 first-round draft choice, also will play, as will 2017 third-round defensive end Dawuane Smoot and projected starting guard A.J. Cann.
All healthy Jaguars tight ends are expected to play, including projected starters Geoff Swaim and James O'Shaughnessy.
