JACKSONVILLE – Senior writer John Oehser's notes and observations Thursday as DE Dante Fowler Jr. spoke to the media following Day 1 of Jaguars 2018 Training Camp at the Dream Finders Homes Practice Complex …
1.Jaguars defensive end Dante Fowler Jr.'s media availability as expected was a highlight of Day 1 of 2018 Jaguars Training Camp, with the fourth-year veteran speaking publicly for the first time since it was announced he will be suspended for the regular-season opener. Fowler spoke for about three minutes, emphasizing that he was more focused on preparing for the Jaguars' Week 2 game against New England than revisiting the 2017 incident in his hometown of St. Petersburg, Fla., that led to his NFL-enforced suspension. "We really already knew it was going to happen," Fowler said of the suspension, which was announced by the NFL late last week. "It's a situation that happened last year. The NFL finally took it into their hands this year. We talked, and they told me what it was going to be, and I just appreciate them hearing me out and hearing my side of the story. It could have always been worse. I'm just going to take this game and be ready to go when we come back for the Patriots." …
2.Fowler opened training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list with a left shoulder issue. While Fowler appeared lighter than at the end of last season, he said he has his strength back and that he is focused now on getting stronger. "It's the shoulder so they just want to be careful, but my strength is actually back," he said. Fowler was asked if is weight is where he prefers. "I'm actually big," Fowler said. "I don't think I'm super thin. If you look at my lower body and see me in pads, I honestly think it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. Weight does not matter with this one. I'm a straight dog. It doesn't matter. Once I put on those pads it's a wrap. I'm just getting stronger. Coaches are just looking out for me, being concerned and looking out for my health, so all I can do is just get stronger, and you guys will know when I'm out there again." …
3.Fowler was relatively short with the media at times Thursday, though he was polite throughout the three minutes. On his timeframe for a return: "It's up to them (coaches, doctors and trainers), honestly." On when he sustained the shoulder injury: "I honestly don't know." On his reaction to the Jaguars not picking up his fifth-year option for the 2019 season, an option the team had because he was a first-round selection (No. 3 overall) in the 2015 NFL Draft: "I honestly don't care." Fowler was asked near the end of the availability about progress made personally in the last year. "Did I go to jail?" Fowler said. "No," came the reply. "There you go," Fowler said before leaving the availability. Jaguars Head Coach Doug Marrone on his conversations with Fowler since the suspension was announced. "Obviously, the league has stepped in, and we support what the league has done. It is something where you have to go out every day and you have to prove until you get to a level of consistency where there is trust. I think it's a matter of doing the right things each and every day, and we'll see how it goes." …
4.Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette appears likely to be an early-camp storyline for a good reason. The second-year veteran reported at 223 pounds – 15 pounds lighter than he played much of his rookie season – and he seemed to show the expected increased quickness and acceleration. Fournette had several quick runs for quality gains on Day 1, and also caught the ball well out of the backfield. "Obviously the season he had last season was awesome," Bortles said of Fournette, who rushed for 1,040 yards and nine touchdowns with 302 yards and a touchdown receiving as a rookie. "What's been impressive is I think it's easy in that situation to take an offseason off. That's the longest year of your life when you go from college right to the [NFL Scouting] Combine, then you go right into minicamp and [training] camp. That's a really long year. It's easy to get lazy in the offseason. It's evident from him losing weight and coming back in really good shape that that's not what he did. It shows how important it is to him, and how much better he wants to be and how much higher he wants to take his game."
