Jags settle O-line by selecting Beachum starting left tackle
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - The Jacksonville Jaguars have settled on a starting offensive line, with Kelvin Beachum at left tackle and former first-round draft pick Luke Joeckel moving to left guard.
Beachum and Joeckel spent much of training camp splitting repetitions at both positions. Coach Gus Bradley picked Beachum because of "his body of work that he's had as well as what he's shown to us in camp."
The Jaguars gave Beachum a five-year, $45 million contract in free agency and declined to pick up a fifth-year option for 2017 in Joeckel's contract, so the outcome is what many expected. Joeckel was the second overall pick in the 2013 draft.
The big question is whether Beachum can return to form. He tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last October, missed most of the offseason and the first two preseason games. He was clearly rusty in his Jaguars preseason debut against Cincinnati on Sunday.