Blaine Gabbert is going to start the Jaguars first preseason game this Thursday against New England. Projected starter David Garrard hasn’t practice since late last week because of a bad back.
The Jaguars say they are holding Garrard out for precautionary reasons. “I’m just going out there looking to improve,” Gabbert said. “Those reps are going to be extremely valuable on film, after the game, just to kind of see what was going on. It will be the first live game I’ve been in in this league. It will be fun. There will be mistakes made. We just have to learn from those and correct them the next week.”
Del Rio thinks Gabbert will be ready. “It will be great exposure for him,” Del Rio said. “He’s off to a good start in camp. We’ve got a lot to do yet. His attitude has been great. He’s picking things up and making progress. We just need to continue to work at it.”
