The Jacksonville Jaguars cancelled their final OTA practice on Thursday to instead play paintball with each other as a team-building exercise. The decision was made by Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson to go paintballing in lieu of what would have been the Jaguars' 10th and final OTA practice prior to next week's minicamp.
With high participation numbers in OTAs, much of the Jags' 90-man roster was on hand to take part in paintball, which involved everyone from the stars of the team to even the general manager. Jaguars GM Trent Baalke was among those putting his tactical combat skills to the test as the Jaguars navigated a makeshift battlefield.
This continues a trend of a player-friendly approach to offseason practices in the two years that Doug Pederson has been the head coach in Jacksonville. Last year, the Jaguars excused non-injured veteran players from minicamp to give them an early start to their summer vacation.
Pederson's efforts in turning around the culture and locker room of the Jaguars, which was left in shambles after years of losing and the disastrous hire of Urban Meyer in 2021, went a long way towards the team's unlikely success in 2022. Despite a 4-8 start, the Jaguars won their final five games and capitalized on the Tennessee Titans' late-season collapse to win the AFC South, then came back from a 27-0 deficit against the Los Angeles Chargers in their Wild Card playoff game to win 31-30.