2016 Jaguars training camp: Observations from the night practice

Due to intense heat predictions for this morning, Day 4 of Jaguars training camp was hosted this evening at 6:45 PM rather than the usual morning time of 10:30 AM.

But, night or day, rain or shine, there was no way I was going to miss out on practice today, so I headed out to EverBank Field to watch training camp.

Due to lightning in the area, the practice was closed early, but I was able to grab some content during my time at the facility.

Marqise Lee held out for third straight practice

Although both Marqise Lee and head coach Gus Bradley are saying Lee's hamstring injury is minor and that he is missing practice as a precaution, this is starting to look bad. Lee has been held out of three straight practices and there is no word on when he will return to the field.

Lee has missed nine games in his first two seasons, and whenever he would return to action he would always be out of sync with the offense due to a lack of practice. As Lee continues to miss practice now, he is only distancing himself further and further away from being a cornerstone of this offense.

In other injury news, Dante Fowler Jr. didn't dress for practice today, due to scheduling to not take part in practice. There's nothing to be worried about, and he was out on the field with the team anyways. Undrafted rookie cornerback Mike Hilton was activated from the non-football injury list and participated as well.

TJ Yeldon looks to have recovered from his ankle injury, as he dressed and took reps as the first team running back.

Roy Miller was on the field without pads today, as he was given a veterans day off.

Bortles looks better than ever (in practice)

Day after day, quarterback Blake Bortles has looked impressive during practice -- something he hasn't been known for in the past.

Bortles has never been a great, nor bad, practice QB, but seemingly just average in years past. But over the past few practices, he's looked nothing but poised and in control of the offense when taking practice reps.

Today, Bortles looked extremely accurate in red zone 7v7's, minus an interception he threw to Davon House. Otherwise, he was spot on in the red zone, 11v11's, and individual drills.

Head coach Gus Bradley said "He's [Bortles] definitely owning more of it [the offense]" after today's practice when asked about how Bortles has performed during training camp.

Kelvin Beachum at left tackle

For the majority of practice, Kelvin Beachum was the first team left tackle, while Luke Joeckel was the first team left guard. As has been predicted all season, Beachum looks to be the favorite to win the left tackle battle at the moment, and things will only become clearer as we get into full-padded practice.

An interesting nugget: Beachum has been the first player on the field every day since camp started, getting out and stretching/doing warm up offensive line drills almost 30 minutes early every practice.

Play of the day

There wasn't enough time for me to stick around and record plays due to the practice kicking the public out early, but during offensive individual workouts, Blake Bortles tossed a beautiful ball to wide receiver Allen Robinson on a post-corner route near the sideline, and Robinson made the toe tapping catch:

A play that gives the one above a run for it's money was a catch that undrafted rookie tight end Braedon Bowman had during second team 11v11's. On a 5 yard out route, Bowman made a nice one handed grab on a pass from Chad Henne and immediately turned upfield to gain a couple extra yards.

Bowman has had an impressive camp so far to add to his great mini-camp, and I wouldn't be surprised if he makes the roster as the 3rd tight end over Nic Jacobs and Ben Koyack, with Neal Sterling taking the 4th spot.

Quote of the day

Head coach Gus Bradley: (Commenting on cornerback Davon House's red zone interception and performance so far) "Davon House wants to be a really, really good cornerback."