Liam Coen on Whether Jaguars Starters Will Play vs. Saints

The Jacksonville Jaguars take on the New Orleans Saints in preseason Week 2 on Sunday, August 17.

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) gets coached by Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen during the Jaguars 14th NFL training camp session at Miller Electric Center Tuesday August 12, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars travel to New Orleans to play the Saints this Sunday in their second preseason game. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Jacksonville Jaguars are in the midst of a crucial training camp and preseason. Ahead of the 2025 season kickoff, they're looking to implement an entirely new system. They have a brand new coaching staff leading the way with Head Coach Liam Coen, Offensive Coordinator Grant Udinski, and Defensive Coordinator Anthony Campanile, all of whom are going into their very first years at their respective positions in the NFL.

Between their front office overhaul, the relative youth of the team, and their poor 4-13 showing in 2024, one would think that the Jaguars would want to string together as many reps as they can ahead of Week 1. But Jacksonville's starters only played one series each on both sides of the ball in their first preseason matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

On offense, they were able to march down the field with relative ease, but penalties ultimately kept them out of the end zone. After kicker Cam Little drilled a field goal to put Jacksonville up 3-0, the first-team defense had the opportunity to let their starters finish the night with a lead. Instead, they allowed Mason Rudolph to go 7-for-7 passing for 70 yards and a touchdown.

Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Darius Slay (23) brings down Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) during the first half of the first preseason game where the Jacksonville Jaguars hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers Saturday Aug. 9, 2025, at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jaguars starters may not play in preseason Week 2 against the New Orleans Saints

Considering their poor performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers, it would behoove the Jacksonville Jaguars to give their starters plenty of reps against the New Orleans Saints in preseason Week 2. However, with the injuries beginning to stack up in training camp, Head Coach Liam Coen will have to think twice about fielding his most prominent players.

When asked if his starters would play on Sunday, he gave an open-ended response:

"Yeah, I think there's a chance. There's a chance. It's just we gotta go get this injury report and make sure, because I don't really want to do too many ‘You're playing, you're not playing,’ that kind of deal. So we kind of need to just make sure that we're, if we are putting [Trevor Lawrence in], we make sure we're protected and we have the right guys in front. Same with the runners, things like that. Just making sure that we're not putting people in vulnerable spots because we are injured.”

The injuries have especially been mounting along the offensive line. The Jaguars have already deployed multiple different looks with the first-team offense due to those absences, but they might not have enough viable starters available against the Saints to feel comfortable deploying Trevor Lawrence.

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