JAGS' WR COACH MCCARDELL BELIEVES MARQISE LEE WILL BE BACK 'A COUPLE WEEKS INTO TRAINING CAMP'

David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire

Keenan McCardell thinks Marqise Lee will return to the field during training camp. 

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In the Jaguars' second to last preseason game of 2018, Marqise Lee went down with a devastating knee injury that was classified by the team only as "big." Now, less than a year later, Lee is running and cutting, but he's not ready for practice just yet.

Lee and his position coach, Keenan McCardell, both feel good about the progress with his knee. Lee has publically stated that his goal is to be ready for week one of the regular season. And if Keenan McCardell's timeline is correct, that shouldn't be a problem.

McCardell, in an interview with local media on Tuesday, said: "He's (Marqise Lee) probably a couple weeks into training camp before he'll be back." That would put Marqise Lee back on the field sometime in early to mid-August, with plenty of time before the Jaguars' week one matchup with the Chiefs on September 8th. 

Lee is the leader in the Jaguars' WR room and has been the most productive of the wide receivers currently on the team. He struggled to stay healthy early on his career, missing nine games in his first two seasons. But prior to his knee injury in 2018, Lee had shaken that stigma, playing in 30 of 32 games in 2016-2017. 

Keenan McCardell is fired up for Marqise Lee's return. "I think he's (Lee) put his mind into coming back and being better than ever," said McCardell. "If he continues to think that way, he will be. I'm looking forward to having him back because he's such a big leader in my room. He's a tone setter in the run game, and you got to have a guy like that. He's my alpha dog in my room."

Lee's eventual return will give the Jaguars more stability in their receiver room. Even without Lee, the Jaguars receivers have been impressive throughout OTAs. Chris Conley, DJ Chark, and Keelan Cole have regularly been able to uncover deep down the field and newly signed QB Nick Foles hasn't had any issues finding them. ​