Jakobi Meyers Camp Update — August 23: A Touchdown, Then a Hand Brace

Jakobi Meyers opened Trevor Lawrence's perfect red-zone period in Wednesday's joint practice with Carolina, catching a touchdown placed over a defender's head in the end zone — the first of three consecutive scoring throws Lawrence delivered against the Panthers' starting defense, per John Shipley at Jaguar Report. Lawrence's one interception of the day was also intended for Meyers, picked off over the middle by safety Nick Scott. Two weeks, two joint practices, and the pattern holds: when Jacksonville's first offense reaches the scoring area, Meyers is the first answer.

The week's other item is new and worth watching. Meyers wore a brace on his hand after sustaining a practice injury, per Kainani Stevens at the team's website — the first injury note attached to him all camp. No absence followed in the reporting, and the team offered no detail, but a receiver's hand is not a place to carry hardware quietly into September, and it lands in a week when Parker Washington was already sidelined by an undisclosed injury of his own. Meyers sat Friday's 34-to-17 loss to Carolina with the rest of the starters, per John Oehser at the team's website, which was the plan for the front-liners regardless.

Back in June we previewed Meyers around the most durable fact in his file — five straight seasons of at least 96 targets, and a December extension that said the team sees a starter — and argued the money would buy looks. Camp keeps agreeing: red-zone connections with Lawrence in consecutive joint practices are the contract translating to usage, exactly the shape the June read predicted.

What to watch: whether the hand brace comes with any missed practice as the roster cutdown to 53 arrives next Sunday, and whether Meyers keeps the first red-zone look once Washington and the full receiver room are healthy again. We'll check after cut day.

_Data via nflverse._