MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – This was it for the front-line guys.

Liam Coen made that clear Thursday, with the first-year head coach saying following the morning's joint practice with the Miami Dolphins that the Jaguars' first-team players will not play in the teams' Preseason Week 3 game Saturday night.

The work done on a hot, physical South Florida Thursday morning was enough.

"We are not going to play our starters [Saturday]," Coen said.

Coen spoke Thursday following a two-hour practice that quarterback Trevor Lawrence called a "little sloppy." It was the Jaguars' lone "joint practice" of '25 camp, with Lawrence mixing two interceptions with a few impressive throws to wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. – the latter of whom had one of his stronger practices of the '25 preseason.

"Speaking individually, there were a couple of throws I missed and a couple of missed communications," Lawrence said, adding, "There is some stuff to clean up, but I thought guys competed hard and flew around.

"We just have to clean up some of the details."

Coen called the day "solid work."

"It is what it is," Coen said. "They (the Dolphins) have had multiple joints already. We had none. To be able to compete against somebody else in general was great. I think it was good quality work for us. It's good to come out of it healthy as well."

Added Coen, "It was good quality work. I was pleased with the effort and the way they went about it. They took this thing seriously and tried to have a lot of pride in what they did."

Lawrence and Coen both talked of the value of the work against a Dolphins defense that disguised coverages well.

"It's good to go against a different defense," Lawrence said. "We've been going against our defense all camp. To see different looks, different disguises, to have to really play each play as its own and go back to some of our base rules, is good for us as an offense.

"It's a measuring stick, 'This is where we're at. This is what we showed. Let's learn from it and get better.' That's an honest assessment of the day."

Said Coen, "You're seeing different defensive structure and different offensive systems. It's great for our guys to get that good work in."

Coen overall called the practice "physical."

"That much was pretty obvious on both sides of the ball," Coen said. "I thought there was some physicality."

Thomas, who has had a few dropped passes in '25 camp and who has shown frustration at times, had a touchdown in early red-zone work Thursday and also had a 43-yard reception from Lawrence in a late team period that was as close to full speed as Thursday offered.

Coen afterward discussed Thomas' ability to perform at a higher level the more competitive the environment.

"You see seven (Thomas) a little bit differently in ways," Coen said afterward. "That's something we've obviously been told and have seen at different points in camp. You can definitely see his uptick change a bit, which was nice to see."

Here's a look at Thursday's practice:

PLAY OF THE DAY

Brian Thomas Jr., a Pro Bowl receiver as a rookie in 2024, turned in what was perhaps the Jaguars' best play Thursday. On third-and-10 from the Jaguars 35 early in a late-practice team drill that was close to live, Trevor Lawrence waited for Thomas to clear into the middle and found the second-year veteran with a perfect throw. Thomas turned the play into a catch-and-run 43-yard gain.

STANDING OUT

• Rookie wide receiver/defensive back Travis Hunter, after missing Sunday's Preseason Week 2 game against the New Orleans Saints with an upper body injury, worked to the side and did not participate in team drills for a third consecutive day.

"It was more, 'Do we want him now or potentially not [against] Carolina [in Week 1]?''' Coen said. "It was more just being smart about the next few weeks because the ultimate goal is Carolina. That's the thing at top of mind. If this was Carolina would he have probably played? Yeah. We're moving in the right direction."

• The Dolphins and Jaguars participated in multiple camp fights Thursday, with running backs LeQuint Allen Jr. and Ja'Quinden Jackson involved with multiple Dolphins defenders and defensive end Travon Walker decisively ending a brief altercation with a Dolphins reserve running back.
• Jaguars third-year cornerback Christian Braswell had a nice pass breakup in a late team drill.
• Dolphins safety Minkah Fitzpatrick intercepted Lawrence in an early red-zone drill, with Lawrence later narrowly missing third-year wide receiver Parker Washington deep down the middle in a near-live 11-on-11 session.
• Lawrence found tight end Brenton Strange for a long completion down the sideline in an early 11-on-11 drill after a sequence early in practice when he completed passes for intermediate gains to Washington, Thomas and rookie running back Bhayshul Tuten.
• Tuten continued to impress and had one of his better practices of '25 camp.
• Walker and Josh Hines-Allen had multiple pressures and would-be sacks.

INJURY WATCH

Cornerback Tyson Campbell, after practicing in a red protective jersey Wednesday, did not participate in team activities Thursday. Coen said the decision was similar to the decision regarding Hunter and that Campbell could have played had it been a regular-season game.

Remaining out of practice:

• Rookie wide receiver Eli Pancol
• Rookie linebacker Jalen McLeod (lower body)
• Rookie guard Wyatt Milum (lower body)
• Reserve offensive lineman Cole Van Lanen (shoulder)
• Rookie safety Caleb Ransaw (lower body)
• Cornerback Montaric Brown (lower leg)