The Jacksonville Jaguars aren’t going to ease Travis Hunter into the NFL. Not even in the preseason.
In Jaguars camp, reports have said Hunter is practicing extensively on offense and defense. That shouldn’t be a surprise considering Hunter won a Heisman Trophy last season at Colorado playing receiver and cornerback, and the Jaguars made a huge trade up to draft him second overall with plans to play him both ways.
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And the Jaguars made sure Hunter made his NFL preseason debut on offense and defense Saturday night.
The Jaguars used Hunter as a full-time starter on offense on their first drive. Then he wasn’t with the starting defense for its only series of the game. But the next time the Pittsburgh Steelers got the ball, Hunter was at cornerback.
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And so begins one of the NFL’s grand experiments.
Hunter started the game, which Pittsburgh won 31-25, along with the rest of the Jaguars’ regular starting offense including quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Hunter was in on 11 of 12 snaps on the first drive (including a play wiped out due to a penalty) and he ran seven routes.
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Hunter was involved early too. He caught a pass on a short option route on third down, though he was a yard short of the sticks. The Jaguars went for it on fourth down and converted. Later in the drive, Hunter got a catch on a receiver screen, though the play was erased due to an offensive penalty. He caught another third-down pass later in the drive, though was short of the first down again and the Jaguars kicked a field goal. His night ended with a pair of catches for 9 yards.
The Jaguars used their starting defense but Hunter didn’t see any action on that side of the ball, though he did warm up on both sides before the game. The Steelers attempted seven passes on nine downs on their opening drive, but Hunter wasn’t at cornerback for any of them.
Jaguars fans didn’t have to wait long. Hunter was in with the second-team defense for Pittsburgh’s second drive. He did miss a tackle on a 7-yard run by fellow rookie Kaleb Johnson of the Steelers, but the rest of his snaps on defense over two drives (eight snaps on defense overall) were uneventful.
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Hunter was one of the most intriguing prospects in the history of the NFL. Not many players come into the league with hopes to play on offense and defense on a nearly full-time basis. But Hunter excelled at it in college, and the Jaguars clearly think he can do it in the pros.
How Hunter is used when the regular season starts will be worth watching, but we got a taste of it in Jacksonville’s first preseason game.
Spotlight team: Tennessee Titans
Cam Ward, the first pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, had to wait a long time for his first NFL preseason completion. The Buccaneers wouldn’t let him have the ball.
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The Buccaneers had two long drives to start the game, which they won 29-7, while Ward and the Titans went three-and-out on their first possession. That meant the Buccaneers had more than 14 minutes of possession early in the second quarter while the Titans were stuck on 58 seconds. But eventually, Ward gave Titans fans what they wanted.
Ward’s first completion, after two incompletions on the short first possession, was a dart downfield to Calvin Ridley for 27 yards.
Ward was looking Ridley’s way a lot early on, as Ridley caught passes of 10 and 13 yards after that first catch. Ward threw it with ease in his first NFL action. He also almost threw an interception on an ill-advised pass; Bucs cornerback Josh Hayes got his hands on it but couldn’t bring it in. The drive kept going, and Tony Pollard scored on a rushing touchdown. Ward is sure to make his share of rookie mistakes, but the Titans will also get plenty of exciting moments. Ward was done after that touchdown drive; he went 5 of 8 for 67 yards in a pretty strong debut.
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Tennessee went 3-14 last season, but there are reasons for optimism this season and it starts with Ward. The Titans have plenty of holes on the roster, but should improve some with better quarterback play.
Standout player: Jets QB Justin Fields
Justin Fields will probably never be a great NFL thrower. But he can do enough as a dual threat to keep his offense moving.
Fields, whose stats in training camp haven’t been good and have drawn some attention, looked fine in game action against the Packers. On the first drive of the preseason, he completed 3-of-4 passes for 42 yards in what would be his only series of the game, including a 24-yard gain by fullback Andrew Beck, and he finished it with a 13-yard touchdown run. His running ability is his most dangerous trait.
Fields wasn’t bad as a runner or passer for the Steelers early last season when he was starting in place of injured Russell Wilson. The Jets needed a quarterback and signed Fields, and they didn’t draft or sign anyone who should compete with him this season. He should get all season to show what he can do. The first look at Fields in a Jets uniform was a good one.
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Other games
New York Giants 34, Buffalo Bills 25: The story was Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart and his impressive preseason debut, but Bills backup Mitchell Trubisky played well too. He completed 9-of-13 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown in the first half. The Bills hope Trubisky doesn’t play any meaningful football, because they have the MVP in Josh Allen, but Trubisky’s showing should give them a comfort level if he does.
Minnesota Vikings 20, Houston Texans 10: J.J. McCarthy played just one series, and that might be his only action of the preseason, but Sam Howell played well in relief. He completed 11-of-13 passes for 105 yards.
Los Angeles Rams 31, Dallas Cowboys 21: Last year, the Rams drafted running back Blake Corum in the third round, then didn’t use him much as Kyren Williams took almost all of the work. Then the Rams drafted Jarquez Hunter in the fourth round this year. Corum made his statement for some more playing time, with two touchdowns in the first quarter of Saturday’s preseason game. Corum had nine carries for 32 yards in the first half while Hunter played behind him, and had 11 yards on four carries before halftime. The Rams, as usual, sat their starters.
Kansas City Chiefs at Arizona Cardinals: One of the benefits of Andy Reid being an old-school coach is that we get to see one of the all-time great quarterbacks play in August. Reid believes in playing his starters in the preseason and, as usual, Patrick Mahomes started the Chiefs’ preseason opener. After the Cardinals fumbled away the first kickoff of the game, the Chiefs had a short drive capped by a Mahomes 1-yard touchdown pass on a nice catch by Jason Brownlee. That was enough for Mahomes; his night was done after that one pass.
Denver Broncos at San Francisco 49ers: The Broncos might not be totally settled on a running back rotation, but based on playing time in the preseason opener it seems like RJ Harvey is clearly in the lead. The Broncos used their starters on offense, Harvey came in first and got the early-down snaps while recently added veteran JK Dobbins came in for third-down work. Harvey had seven carries for 25 yards in the three series the Broncos’ starting offense played, including a productive run when he bounced it outside and used his speed for an 11-yard gain. He handled every rushing attempt when the starting offense was on the field. Harvey added a catch for 4 yards. Dobbins also had one catch for 4 yards. Perhaps Broncos coach Sean Payton was just seeing what Harvey could do with extended snaps and he’s still evaluating how he’ll split the work in the regular season, but Harvey getting every carry with the starters seems notable.
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Final thoughts
• Although Bills running back James Cook is holding in while he seeks a new contract, he was in uniform and warmed up with the team before their game against the Giants, according to the Bills’ broadcast. Bills coach Sean McDermott said he wanted Cook to play but he didn’t due to the contract situation. Many of the Bills starters did play, other than Josh Allen. Second-year back Ray Davis got most of the work early in the game with Cook not playing. Davis had just 7 yards on four carries, but did manage to kick a PAT.
• Mason Rudolph, not Aaron Rodgers, started at quarterback for the Steelers. That’s not a big surprise, Rodgers’ only preseason action since 2018 was a brief outing for the Jets two years ago. It’s possible Rodgers won’t play at all this preseason, even though he’s with a new team. Rudolph completed 9-of-10 passes for 84 yards and a touchdown.
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• The Buccaneers didn’t use their starting offense, though first-round pick Emeka Egbuka did play at receiver with the starters, which included quarterback Kyle Trask. Egbuka, who has been getting a lot of praise in camp, made a nice jumping catch for 21 yards on his second snap, after second-year receiver Jalen McMillan made a brilliant catch for 25 yards on the first play of the game.
• Packers quarterback Jordan Love didn’t have a great night, completing only 1-of-5 passes for 7 yards. The good news, aside from the fact that it’s the preseason and Love should be fine when the regular season begins, is that the one completion was to first-round rookie Matthew Golden on a slant route.
• The Buccaneers, already dealing with a knee injury to standout left tackle Tristan Wirfs that could cause him to miss the start of the regular season, saw backup running back Rachaad White go down with a groin injury. The Bucs are set up to withstand that injury if White misses time, because they have Bucky Irving as their starter and Sean Tucker is a very good third-string back, but it’s still not what Tampa Bay wants to see in August.
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• The Titans had a potentially disruptive injury, when running back Tyjae Spears suffered a lower leg injury while being tackled. Spears was carted off to the locker room. He is the primary backup to Tony Pollard and was expected to have a significant role, but that might depend on the severity of the injury.
• It’s a good thing for Kyler Murray that this interception came in the preseason and didn’t count. Because it was a bad one. Murray was rolling to his left and threw it right to Chiefs safety Jaden Hicks (who is a good breakout candidate as he likely replaces Justin Reid in the defensive lineup). The other good news for Murray is he played well other than that interception, completing 7-of-8 passes for 96 yards.
• It’s just preseason, but Cam Little had a heck of a highlight. The Jaguars kicker nailed a 70-yard field goal. The record for the regular season is 66 yards by Justin Tucker.
Coaches generally don’t like to attempt field goals close to that long in the regular season, for fear of them being blocked or giving away field position. But at least the Jaguars know Little is capable of it.
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