We are now a week into training camps across the National Football League and stories are emerging by the day. Let’s take a look at the latest headlines coming out of the AFC South.
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars announced Thursday that rookie linebacker Quincy Williams is expected to miss six weeks with a slight tear in the meniscus in his right knee. Head coach Doug Marrone discussed his expectations for recovery on his weekly radio show Thursday evening:
“Our expectation is that he’ll be ready for the first game,” Marrone said, but also admitted the time line is still fluid, “I’ll probably have a better feel of the timeline [Friday] after the MRI.”
I previously discussed why I believed Williams was the odds-on-favorite to fill the void left at weakside linebacker by Telvin Smith‘s sudden retirement. Thus far in camp, it appeared the Murray State rookie was doing everything possible to seize that opportunity:
“What I really love is you ask him how it’s going, and he says, ‘Coach, I need the reps; I want the reps; I need the reps,’’’ Marrone said. “I like when a player has that type of mentality. Are there some mistakes out there? Absolutely. But what you see is that as soon as a mistake is made, ‘Boom: recognize. I’ve got to do that better.’ That’s important, because no one’s going to go out there and not make any mistakes.”
Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone also raved about William’s blazing play-speed:
“He might be the fastest player on our football field right now,” Marrone said. “When you watch him … I mean, he is fast. I know [wide receiver] Dede [Westbrook] will be pissed. There will be a lot of receivers who will be mad, but I’m just telling you: He is fast.”
Quincy Williams has the makings of an impact player and key contributor for the Jaguars. Sadly, we will have to wait a bit longer to see it come to fruition.