The NFL season will start on Thursday as it typically does through the Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio. To the surprise of many, the Jacksonville Jaguars received the opportunity to compete in the annual game and will take on the Las Vegas Raiders in the process.
The Jags will be competing in the annual game for the first time since their inaugural season when they took on the Carolina Panthers, another new entrant into the NFL, in 1995. As for the Raiders, it will mark their first time competing in the game.
Both teams will take the field with new head coaches as Doug Pederson was hired by the Jags in February and Josh McDaniels was hired by the Raiders in January. Additionally, the Hall of Fame Game will mark the second time both have taken the field as head coaches, with Pederson previously leading the Philadelphia Eagles and McDaniels previously leading the Denver Broncos.
As for both franchises, these two teams will be coming off two completely different 2021 seasons as the Jags had the worst record in the league (3-14), while the Raiders (10-7) reached the postseason. That said, Thursday’s game especially should give a young team like the Jags a good evaluation period.
Pederson already said that he wants to give his young players a chance to show what they can do, so that could be a sign that many of the starters will be very limited, or won’t play at all. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence and running back Travis Etienne are two players who Pederson has already said will sit on Thursday, so their 2022 preseason debuts will likely happen next week.
With Lawrence out, as well as No. 2 quarterback C.J. Beathard (groin injury), Jake Luton has been named the starting quarterback for the Jags. Luton, a former sixth-round selection, is entering his third season in the NFL. He was drafted by the Jags in 2020 out of Oregon State, but spent some time with the Seattle Seahawks and Miami Dolphins in 2021 before returning on a reserve/future contract in February.
As for the rest of the team, the players who Jags fans may be the most interested to see are the members of their rookie class. With the team earning the No. 1 overall pick in April’s draft, they selected outside linebacker Travon Walker from Georgia. While he’s set to be a starter, it wouldn’t be surprising if he received some snaps on Thursday alongside other early-round selections like linebacker Chad Muma and center Luke Fortner.
Then when it comes to the Jags’ late-round…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Jaguars Wire…