The Jacksonville Jaguars have decided to go with a different form of practice according to their social media post.
All 32 NFL teams are preparing for the 2023 regular season with their organised team activities (OTAs). There are still three months to go until the season gets underway in September.
The Jaguars will have third-year quarterback Trevor Lawrence leading their offence for the new season. Lawrence was the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and is already on the path to being one of the best QBs in the league.
Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson spoke about Lawrence after a recent OTA about how the QB is faring in the off-season programmes. Pederson says that his quarterback is progressing well, in what will be his second year under the head coach’s guidance.
"He's on the right track," Pederson told reporters earlier in the week. "He's doing everything that we've asked him to do. He's the key to the offense. He makes it work. He understands his role from the standpoint of putting the ball in the playmakers' hands.
"Having a full year of our off offenses under his belt gives him a lot of confidence. Where last year, we were still teaching and he was still learning … he's still learning but he's now teaching the offense to the guys."
As the off-season enters June, teams across the NFL are beginning to ramp up their preparations with their OTAs. However, in the case of the Jaguars, they have gone with a different approach.
In a tweet posted on Thursday, the Jaguars rosters took part in a game of paintball rather than their OTA. The copy accompanying the video read: “The guys have been working hard so we decided to swap out the final OTA practice for team paintball.”
The video features the Jaguars players getting ready to take part in the paintball event. A second video posted in a separate tweet showed the Jaguars players seeming to enjoy themselves during the game.
The Jaguars have three pre-season games in August to get ready for the start of the regular season. Friendly games against the Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins will be part of the preparations for the Week One opener against the Indianapolis Colts on September 10.
Wednesday saw the Jaguars release brand new concept designs for their new stadium. Their current home, the TIAA Bank Field, will undergo renovations that are expected to leave the Jaguars needing a temporary home for the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
When completed, the Jaguars' new stadium is expected to seat around 62,000 fans, which could be increased to 71,500 for college football and higher for concerts. The new stadium will not be ready for several years, with the Jaguars still playing at the TIAA Bank Field for the forthcoming 2023 regular season.
