JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Kevin from Jacksonville
What's the difference between minicamp and OTAs? What makes minicamp so important by comparison? Why the hype?
Fair question. Very fair, actually – though I don't know that there's that much "hype" around anything in an NFL offseason program. The Jaguars, after holding 10 organized team activities practices the last three weeks at the Miller Electric Center, will finish the veteran portion of the 2025 offseason program with three minicamp practices this week at the MEC on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The minicamp practices, like the OTA practices, are non-padded with no significant contact. Also like the OTA practices, players can work in 11-on-11 and seven-on-seven "competitive" situations during minicamp. This means OTA practices are precisely the same as minicamp practices – with the only real difference being that minicamp practices are mandatory while anything else in the offseason program – including OTA practices – are voluntary. In years past around the Jaguars, that has made minicamp a bit more important than OTAs because players such as defensive end Josh Hines-Allen chose to train elsewhere during OTAs. With Hines-Allen and all other players attending most or all OTA sessions, the difference in importance between OTAS and minicamps for the Jaguars this offseason is nil.
Bradley from Sparks, NV
I'm guessing that Hunter will be a dynamic player on offense and defense sooner rather than later and that keeping him on the field will likely be the issue. First, what is his injury history as I've heard conflicting reports. Second, how proactive will the coaching staff be in limiting the more physical aspects of the game such as going over the middle or squaring up to tackle a Derrick Henry or George Kittle type?
The Jaguars' plan is for rookie wide receiver/defensive back Travis Hunter to play offense and defense – and they wouldn't have selected him No. 2 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft unless they expected him to be dynamic at both positions. And while Hunter missed five games in college, his injury history in college has been comparatively minimal and wasn't undue cause for concern during the pre-draft process. As for how Jaguars coaches will handle Hunter, I expect the nature of his position – cornerback – will organically limit how often he is asked to take on a power back one on one at the line of scrimmage. He also usually will be playing in pass-centric downs, so that will further limit those situations.
Benjamin from Jacksonville, FL BWO Upstate SC
I've always rooted for players who are height/weight anomalies for their position, so when I saw 6-feet-8 undrafted tight end Greg Estandia in training camp back in 2007 I immediately wanted to see him succeed. He never really did by NFL standards, but I'll never forget yelling, "Let's go Estandia!!!" at a preseason game and having everyone around me look at me like I was insane.
One fer Estandia, I suppose.
Michael from Orange Park, FL
Cooookie!!!!!
My Scooby Sense – and not my Scobee Sense – tells me you're referencing the Jaguars signing punter Logan Cooke to a four-year contract extension Monday. It's a well-deserved extension for one of the Jaguars' most consistent players in recent seasons. Cooke has been one of the NFL's best punters for eight seasons. He's in his prime and will be with the team for the foreseeable future. Solid move for a better-than-solid player.
Ryan Nielsen from Basement
I think Hunter should put on 40 pounds and move to SAM. That would give the Jags a good tight end duo. I would have had a top 10 defense last year but Smoot left, it's all Smoot's fault.
We talk a lot here in the O-Zone about the importance of being nice. It's indeed critically important. This email, while perhaps amusing, is certainly not nice.
Don from Marshall, NC
The Jaguars have the best kickers in the NFL! Congratulations to Logan Cooke and well done on his new contract! Go Jaguars!
When it comes to Cooke, who is steadily and quietly becoming perhaps the best specialist in Jaguars history, Don remains "all in."
Colin from Sanford, FL
A recent question about NBA expansion made me wonder about Jacksonville being selected for NFL expansion. I'm too young to remember anything about it. Looking back from your perspective, is it surprising the Bold City was chosen? What was the vibe like at the time?
This question makes me feel old – and also makes me smile. I sense anyone from Jacksonville my age or older will have the same feeling because you couldn't be conscious in Jacksonville at the time and not remember well the feeling when the Jaguars were awarded a franchise in 1993. Jacksonville being awarded an expansion franchise was among the most surprising NFL stories of three or four decades – so surprising that even until the final days and hours few outside the absolute inner circle of the process believed it would happen. The general vibe in the late 1970s and 1980s was that it never would happen. That vibe continued for most into the early 1990s, when a core group of business leaders began an expansion quest that was so professional and thorough that it gradually became apparent that the city had at least an outside chance. The chance gradually increased in the early 1990s and specifically in 1993 to the point that those "in the know" knew late that year there was a very good chance. But that in-the-know knowledge realistically didn't extend to everyone in the city. The day that the City officially was awarded the team – November 30, 1993 – therefore was a day unlike any other in the city's history. Satisfaction. Joy. Jubilation. Disbelief. Those words only start to describe the vibe. Few in Jacksonville who were there would ever forget it. City-changing. To say the least.
Jim from Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
"Victory belongs to the most tenacious" - Storyline for French Open men's final. Period.
True, though I'm not even sure it's fair to Jannik Sinner to say that Carlos Alcarez was more tenacious in Sunday's French Open men's final. It seemed from this view that in a match with ebbs and flows and highs and lows Alcarez hit a high point at the right time in the fifth-set tiebreaker. Both players were tenacious on a level rarely seen in the sport. A worthy champion in Alcarez and a worthy runner-up in Sinner. There are matches in that sport and competition in any sport in which the "loser" often is remembered on a similar level as the winner. That final seems such an occasion.
Willis from Jax
Who does Mike from Jacksonville think he is, the preacher from Footloose? Let's DAAAAAANCE!!!
One kid. One town. One chance. All he wanted to do was dance.
Bradford from Orange Park, FL
Anyone else had the nauseating experience of listening to any of Chris Simms' most recent YouTube segment of him doing his impression of someone who's in a position to - but, like a jerk - talk about current NFL quarterbacks and what he thinks they need to do to be successful? The guy was 10-13 in the league. Sounded to me like sour grapes from a guy who, uh ... never was. I don't digress, but I'll leave there.
Success in the NFL – or even having played in the NFL – means little when it comes to analyzing the league. The reality is most national NFL analysts do the best they can in what is pretty much the next-to-impossible task of offering real meaningful insight on 32 teams. Because national analysts aren't around teams every day their insight – while often good – as often as not skims the surface rather than digging deep enough to inform diehard fans. But I disagree. Bottom line: Simms is doing fine. He's as good as any national analyst.
Josh from Atlanta, GA
Does Mrs. O-Zone travel to London with you for a little annual vacation? Or is that her favorite vacation of the year away from Mr. O-Zone? I am curious if you have a favorite local watering hole that imports Bullet Bob specially for you for a few days out of the year.
Mrs. O-Zone has yet to travel to London with me. She generally doesn't mind this. Given the choice between international travel with me and doing pretty much anything without me, her choice is understandable and more particularly difficult.
Michael from Saint Augustine, FL
I woke up this morning realizing we are in the midst of the NBA Finals, the College World Series is upon us. That means two weeks until only golf, tennis and women's basketball for a full month. Hello Darkness, my old friend.
Wimbledon is only two weeks, not a full month. But during that fortnight the sports world isn't close to being in darkness. Given a choice between Wimbledon and the NBA Finals, I'm turning to the grass courts without giving it a thought.
Sean from Oakleaf, FL
Has Jaguar management ever asked you not to be yourself?
No. That's what family is for.