The Jacksonville Jaguars signed Arik Armstead last year. However, he was a non-factor because he played out of position. He's since switched back to defensive tackle and is expected to bounce back. However, a back injury has prevented the former first-round pick from practicing in training camp. Head coach Liam Coen doesn't sound too thrilled about his absence.
Coen met with the local media following Day 10 of training camp and didn't sound overly confident that Armstead will be ready for the season opener, pointing out making sure that he's healthy throughout the season is the biggest priority.
"He's a veteran. Ultimately, he'll probably know how to get himself ready to go. I would hope," Coen told the local media when asked about Armstead. "The key is just making sure thathe's healthy and ready to gofor the first game. And ultimately, it's a long season, as we know now, not to say that early ones aren't obviously as important as late ones, but it's a long season, and we're just trying to get them to be as healthy as possible."
Later in the exchange with the press corps, Coen says that it's hard to tell whether Armstead will ultimately be ready for the opener against the Carolina Panthers.
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Why Arik Armstead's availability for the Jaguars is a reason for concern
Arik Armstead underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus last year and spent most of the 2024 offseason recovering. He didn't miss any games but didn't look particularly great either. As Liam Coen noted, he's a vested veteran, so the former Oregon Duck knows how to prepare for the regular season. Having said that, his absence at training camp should most definitely raise concerns.
For starters, Armstead is supposed to lead the way as the veteran of the group. Moreover, the Jags have a new defensive system in place, and he needs to get acclimated, something that he's not able to do because of the injury. On top of that, the Jags need him, as sophomore Maason Smith is also dealing with an injury and has missed practice.
What's alarming about Armstead's absence is that the team hadn't reported that he's been dealing with an injury, so either the Jaguars didn't properly report the issue, the injury is more serious than originally thought, or he's simply not pushing through.
Regardless of the reason for Armstead's absence, the fact that the team brougth in Austin Johnson to bolster the defensive line doesn't particularly inspire confidence.
The truth is that it's hard to tell what's going on from an outside perspective, but nobody will blame the Jaguars if they're not pleased with how things have unfolded. If Arik Armstead is back for Week 1, this could turn out to be a non-issue, but if he misses time, the team may regret not making further additions to the defensive trenches in the offseason.
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