Jaguars to rest starters against Miami. Which players must stand out to make the roster?

As cut-down day quickly approaches, the Jacksonville Jaguars will have one final opportunity to showcase the team's depth in front of the team's decision-making office and its coaching staff.

The Jaguars are set to take on the Miami Dolphins on Saturday, Aug. 23, at 7 p.m. for the team's final preseason game of the year. There will then be a quick turnaround for the team to trim the roster down from 90 to 53 players by 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 26.

The Jaguars have seen the team's starters play multiple series thus far this preseason, and with a joint practice with Miami ahead of Saturday evening's preseason contest, head coach Liam Coen said Thursday that the team's starters will rest this week in anticipation of the regular season.

“We are not going to play our starters. We got them the two weeks of work in the first two games. In an ideal world, looking back, if you had the joints earlier on, you wouldn't play them. Would play maybe a series in the third, and that's what we did in Tampa last year, and I liked it," Coen said Thursday after the team's practice with the Dolphins.

BREAKING: Travis Hunter, other Jacksonville Jaguars starters out vs. Dolphins in preseason finale

"It'll be a lot of young guys getting some quality work, and there's a lot of guys that are going to play that are fighting for a roster spot or fighting for a roster spot potentially on somebody else's team. So, this is valuable tape, a great challenge. That's something we're going to obviously go up against. We're all going to go up against, but it's a good opportunity for those guys as well.”

Both Coen and general manager James Gladstone will have many decisions to make regarding what position groups they feel strongest about, and what groups they feel need to improve or be changed ahead of Week 1.

Will Travis Hunter play in preseason game vs. Dolphins?

Though not listed as a starter on defense, Hunter will not suit up for the final preseason game of the season. Hunter is a two-way player and is expected to play upward of 80% of the team's snaps on either side of the ball.

Hunter is dealing with an upper-body injury that would not have sidelined him this weekend if it were the regular season. Coen said, too, that Hunter could have likely practiced against Miami if he needed to.

"More just being smart about the next few weeks because the ultimate goal is Carolina. That’s the thing that’s at top of mind right now and for him. Could he have probably gone, I think so. If this was Carolina, would he have probably played? Yeah. So, we’re moving in the right direction," Coen said.

Dolphins starters will play vs. Jaguars

Ahead of the teams' joint practice in South Florida, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said the team will play starters against the Jaguars on Saturday.

McDaniel said the amount of time starters will play depends on how the team performs against Jacksonville during joint practice.

"The starters know that they will be – my plan is for them to appear," McDaniel said via the team's transcript from Thursday's practice.

"What that looks like, the length of that will kind of be determined by today’s practice and then I’ll meet with the coaching staff right after and then tell the players a little more definitively what that looks like, but they have recently been told that they will appear. That had been my plan."

Jaguars must navigate injury bug ahead of cut-down day

Though Jacksonville has remained relatively healthy throughout training camp, the team has dealt with a couple of bumps and bruises along the way.

The most notable injuries are in the team's defensive backs room. Since the start of camp, at least six defensive backs have missed time due to injuries. Those banged up to some extent include Hunter, alongside veteran corners Montaric Brown, Tyson Campbell, Levi Wallace and Zechariah McPherson. Both Wallace and McPherson were placed on the team's injured reserve list.

McPherson was recently released from the list via an injury settlement, free to join another team when healthy.

The injuries to Campbell and Hunter are not thought to be significant. Both players have returned in some capacity, but their ailments have forced the team to turn to other players such as Christian Braswell and Jarrian Jones.

The depth-chart adjustments were first brought by Brown's lower-body injury, something he has yet to fully recover from since being ruled week-to-week near the start of camp. Brown was operating as a top corner opposite Campbell before he went down.

Note: Jones has operated as a top corner on the team during Brown's absence.

Another injury-related position group the team must navigate around is its offensive line. Nearly since the start of camp, the team has had a forced rotation due to various ailments.

Right tackle Anton Harrison has missed time, as has right guard Patrick Mekari. Mekari's injury opened up an opportunity for veteran OL Chuma Edoga to earn legitimate playing time at guard, forcing the team to decide between the two at least at right guard. The team's starting offensive line remains in flux, but the competition could be a net positive for the franchise if everyone remains healthy.

5 Jaguars who must improve stock to make team

Though most of the team's 53-man roster is likely solidified by this point of camp, ahead of the regular season, there are still a few players who can earn a spot for Jacksonville, or one of the other 31 NFL teams, with a standout performance Saturday.

Coen said as much on Thursday, noting that the team is likely to bring in players that are on other rosters now to add to their final 53-man team.

"I think the guys that are on our team, I think there's a lot of clarity. I would assume there's probably going to be some players on other people's rosters that will be on our roster. That's the reality of this thing," Coen said.

"So, at multiple positions, we have guys that are either on the border or, hey, man, we're going to have to go and look elsewhere when the time comes. That's just the reality of this time that we're in, this phase but there are some guys that are going to be playing this weekend that are fighting for roster spots.”

A few recently drafted players and other tenured Jaguars are likely on the roster bubble.

Chad Muma, LB

Muma, drafted by Jacksonville in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, has yet to solidify himself as a starter in Jacksonville's defense since he was drafted.

Muma has played as Devin Lloyd's primary backup, starting in spurts throughout his career.

Since 2022, Muma has started 50 games (seven starters), accounting for 94 total tackles, three tackles for loss, three quarterback hits, 1.5 sacks and three pass breakups.

Muma's spot is in danger after the team selected former Notre Dame linebacker Jack Kiser in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Muma's position is secured by special teams play, but if Kiser outperforms him, the team likely will opt to go with the recent addition rather than a holdover.

Daniel Thomas, S

Thomas, a career backup at safety and elite special teams player, could be looking ahead to his next team come cut-down day.

Thomas was originally drafted by Jacksonville during the 2020 NFL Draft, representing one of just two players (DL DaVon Hamilton) who remain on the roster from the 12-player draft, the last one conducted by former GM Dave Caldwell, two regimes ago.

Thomas has excelled as a special teams player but is entering the final year of his contract. Thomas has played in 71 games (four starts), accounting for 71 total tackles and one interception. The Jaguars drafted standout Navy special teams player and safety Rayuan Lane III and he has performed nicely during camp and into the preseason.

De'Antre Prince, CB

A recent draft selection, Prince was drafted in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft and faces an uphill battle to make the team's roster. Though injuries at the position could help his case, the team likely has at least five players slated to make the roster at the position: Hunter, Campbell, Jones, Jourdan Lewis, Montaric Brown and Christian Braswell.

Brown's injury could impact Prince's roster status, as could the team's decision at safety. Darnell Savage was one of the team's big-ticket free-agent acquisitions last year, but has not solidified his role as a starting safety. Still, Savage has versatility and can be used as a nickel corner and as a dime defensive back.

If Jacksonville wants to go lighter at corner to keep Savage as a two-way (safety and corner) player, that could spell the end of Prince's career in Jacksonville, at least on the 53-man roster. Prince played in 10 games last year, accounting for eight tackles and one pass breakup.

Javon Foster, OL

With injuries to several offensive linemen this summer, Jacksonville could opt to keep Foster, but there may not be enough numbers to do so if players get healthy.

Drafted in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, Foster was largely expected to operate as the team's future swing tackle. He's sense been moved to guard, where he's performed admirably. But the team's depth at the position could force him out.

Currently projected to make the 53-man roster are: Walker Little, Ezra Cleveland, Robert Hainsey, Patrick Mekari, Anton Harrison, Chuma Edoga, Fred Johnson, Wyatt Milum and Jonah Monheim. Those nine players could be supplemented by Cole van Lanen after the season starts if he were to be played on in-season injured reserve, making him eligible to return in Week 5.

Jacksonville has spent a considerable amount of time on its offensive line this offseason, and Foster could be a casualty.

Jordan Jefferson, DL

Jefferson, drafted in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft just two picks after Foster, could be facing an uphill battle to make the team's roster.

Jacksonville has made multiple swings at the defensive line this summer. Less than a week ago, the team traded for defensive lineman Khalen Saunders, who will more than likely make the 53-man roster without spending more than two weeks with the team.

Jefferson is in a room that also includes Arik Armstead, Maason Smith, DaVon Hamilton and Tyler Lacy as players who appear to have an inside track at sticking with the team. Jefferson played in eight games for the team last year, accounting for 12 tackles (five solos) and a sack.

Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Demetrius82 or on Bluesky @ Demetrius.

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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Travis Hunter out vs. Dolphins: Which Jaguars must raise their stock?