Jacksonville anticipates edge rusher Josh Allen’s presence at the Jaguars’ mandatory minicamp from June 10-12 after the star defender bypassed the team’s voluntary offseason team activities (OTAs) in favor of his own training resources.
The Jaguars announced Friday that Allen will speak with reporters Monday after the first of three minicamp practices, while select players “including a majority of veterans who participated in the offseason program to-date” have been excused from the workouts in full.
“Rookies, first-year players and select veterans will still be required to participate,” the release read.
Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson foreshadowed that minicamp would not necessarily be mandatory for every member of the Jaguars’ roster on Monday, indicating he’d excuse specific players similar to years past.
“I’ll be selective with those guys,” Pederson said. “It’s about development and growth, and the more time we can work with young players getting more reps is beneficial for us as a whole.”
Allen, who signed a five-year, $141.3 million contract extension with Jacksonville in March, trained at EXOS in Phoenix, Ariz. this summer while the Jaguars began Phase 3 of offseason workouts between May and early June, as he did during the 2023 offseason. He attended team activities before OTAs.
Of course, Allen went on to produce a single-season career-high, and franchise record, 17.5 sacks last season, leading to his big payday. He also accumulated 66 tackles including 17 for loss, two forced fumbles, one interception and one defended pass.
“The one thing that I don’t worry about is Josh knows Josh,” Pederson said about Allen on May 20. “He knows how to get himself prepared and ready and he always comes back in shape and ready to go. So, he’s done it and it’s a time for him to really get healthy and fresh and be ready to go.”
In his five-year Jaguars career, Allen has tallied 251 tackles with 53 for loss, 45 sacks, nine forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries including one scoop-and-score, two interceptions and eight defended passes.
Players required to attend mandatory minicamp but skip the workouts are subject to fines from the NFL that increase daily: $16,953 for day one, $33,908 for day two and $50,855 for day three.
