A key piece of the Jaguars' offensive line is finally on his way.
Doug Marrone told reporters Friday that Branden Albert, who came over via a trade from the Dolphins but held out of voluntary workouts in search of a new contract, promised the Jaguars coach he will attend mandatory minicamp next week.
"He told me he was gonna be here," Marrone said. "So, I mean, I take him for his word, so we'll see."
Whether or not Albert slides in right away remains to be seen.
"I got to wait to see him," Marrone said. "I mean, I don't know if he's going to pass the physical. I mean I got to wait [for him] to go through the process that everyone goes through, and I'm assuming that he would, but you never know. So, I'm not going to jump ahead of myself. So, we'll sit down this weekend, and we'll sit down on Monday, and you know, we'll set that plan when he comes. I'm not going to waste a lot of my time thinking about it, you know what I'm saying? There's a lot of other things going on."
Getting any healthy games out of Albert would be a boost for the Jaguars, who were unable to address one of their biggest needs at offensive line this offseason. Because of a poor draft at the position, they were left hunting for veterans. They took Alabama tackle Cam Robinson in the second round and planned to slide him in on the left side if Albert did not show.
No matter how energizing the Jaguars' offseason was, this season will be a disappointment if they cannot build something on offense with rookie standout Leonard Fournette. While Robinson has earned praise early, having an experienced veteran in the mix never hurts.
