WATFORD, England (AP) — Jakobi Meyers needed only a few days of studying Jacksonville’s playbook after arriving via a trade last season to have an impact the very next Sunday.
The Jaguars expect new Houston wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. will do the same for the Texans when the teams meet at Wembley Stadium.
Houston acquired Harrison from the Arizona Cardinals in a trade that reunites the receiver with quarterback C.J. Stroud, his former Ohio State teammate.
“We showed some of Marvin’s clips today in terms of what he’s been able to do in Arizona, maybe what areas of the field they may try to use him,” Jaguars coach Liam Coen said Wednesday before Jacksonville’s practice at their hotel accommodations north of London.
Coen expects Harrison to play Sunday in some capacity.
“It’s probably going to be hard to get him into a full game plan, but shoot, we did it with Jakobi last year and I know Marvin is smart and he works hard,” Coen said. “So, I would imagine that he’s going to be a part of their game plan.”
Meyers had joined the Jags ahead of their Week 10 game - against Houston. The trade with the Las Vegas Raiders was on a Tuesday and Meyers was on Jacksonville’s practice field Wednesday.
Meyers had three receptions for 41 yards, a modest showing but enough to lead the team that day. He was targeted three times. His 23-yard reception from Trevor Lawrence on third down kept a scoring drive alive in the third quarter. Houston overcame a 19-point deficit and won 36-29.
“Jakobi was able to do more than I thought he was going to be able to do,” Lawrence recalled on Wednesday.
It's “definitely doable” for Harrison to get playing time, Lawrence added.
“Probably not the whole playbook’s opened up for him, but you can definitely game plan and get him involved and have him ready to do something, for sure,” the quarterback said.
On Monday, Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said he was hopeful that Harrison's history with Stroud will speed the learning process.
“Anytime you have players who have spent time together, whether it’s college or other teams, just having that prior relationship definitely helps when you come into a new situation,” Ryans said.
'Hopeful' for return of Eric Murray
Veteran safety Eric Murray (concussion) didn’t play last Sunday when the Jaguars beat Philadelphia 19-17 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. He had been limited in practice late last week but ultimately was ruled out.
“We’ll see today and tomorrow, we’ll be able to see him run around a little bit, see what that looks like,” Coen said. “Hopeful, right, but hasn’t been able to do a ton since last week.”
Murray is in his second season with Jacksonville after five years with the Texans.
“It’s great to have Eric - he’s a competitor, he’s physical, he brings a standard to everything that we do on the back end - and obviously he’s playing against his former team.”
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