Jaguars
Jaguars first-round WR/CB Travis Hunter hasn’t quite lit the world on fire in his first handful of professional games despite the lofty expectations put on him coming into the year. An executive from another team believes he needs to play one position to reach his full potential, and that’s on the defensive side of the ball.
“There is not one trait other than ball skills that makes him different on offense,” the exec said, via Mike Sando of The Athletic. “To reach his highest level, he is going to be in one spot, and it is going to be at corner.”
Another executive outlined how they could get Hunter playing both sides down the line, but said they probably should let him fully lean into being a receiver for the rest of this season.
“The only way you prove that this worked is to let him play receiver this year, let him learn a complete offense, and then the next year, play him a majority on defense. You won’t get value until like your third year.”
- Hunter was recently placed on injured reserve with a non-contact knee injury suffered during practice. The Jaguars are confident he didn’t suffer any long-term damage and are evaluating him over the next two weeks with no plans to hurry him back into the lineup. (Mike Silver)
- Jaguars K Cam Little made the longest field goal in NFL history on Sunday against the Raiders with a 68-yard kick.
Texans
- Texans HC DeMeco Ryans on Broncos S Kris Abrams-Draine‘s hit on QB C.J. Stroud, which caused him to miss the remainder of the game with a concussion: “He hit the quarterback when he sliding and giving himself up. If I’m incorrect on the rules, I’ve seen that happen multiple times with our guys, and we get the penalty.” (DJ Bien-Aime)
Titans
Titans QB Cam Ward spoke about noticing the team’s growth from week to week under interim HC Mike McCoy, even though they continue to lose games. Ward seems to be maintaining a positive mindset despite the head coaching change in his rookie season.
“Yeah, I think I improved every game from an operation standpoint, from a play call standpoint, to getting in and out of huddle, to knowing where guys are, to being an NFL quarterback,” Ward said, via the team website. “I think every game has got better. Then for each other position, every game we’ve had together, we’ve got better chemistry, because practice is a lot different than a game. So I’ll continue to work those guys, they’ll continue to work with me and we’re going to continue to be better.”
“Those guys they work, they bust off each and every week they’re in the building,” Ward added. “And so, what they’re doing on the field, I’ve seen it in college for them but I knew it was just going to continue to prosper in the league just because the reps that we get just on our own time, but here. And I just think the biggest one out of those three is that they’re unselfish. Those are the type of guys that you need. And I’m glad that we’re able to have that chemistry already in our first year, that’s going to keep on doing good for us.”
“I see a lot of guys, quarterbacks, coaches, they’ve all said the same thing to myself and my other teammates: Just continue to play as clean football as we can,” Ward concluded. “Eventually, it’s going to end and when it does, you got to be ready and you just got to continue to try to get better every day. It ain’t going to happen overnight, but if you continue to work, it’ll happen.”
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