The Sports Xchange

JACKSONVILLE — Jason Myers survived the bye week and was still the Jacksonville Jaguars’ kicker Monday when the team resumed practicing for Sunday’s game at the New York Jets.

The Jaguars brought in two kickers with NFL experience, Randy Bullock and Zach Hocker, during the bye week, but neither was impressive enough to tempt the Jaguars to cut Myers.

When head coach Gus Bradley was asked if they considered making a change, he said, “Not after we saw them.”

Bullock was drafted in the fifth round in 2012 by the Texans and spent a year on the injured reserve list with a groin tear. He kicked for the Texans the last two years and was cut on Sept. 25 even though he had made four of five field-goal attempts.

Hooker was drafted in the seventh round of the 2014 draft by the Redskins. He was released by the Redskins that year and in 2015 by Miami in the offseason before making 9 of 13 field-goal attempts in six games with the Saints. He was released Oct. 19.

Even though the Jaguars kept Myers, Bradley said he needs to be more consistent after missing three field-goal attempts and three extra points in the first seven games.

“We want to stay away from that one game good, one game bad,” Bradley said. “You’ve got to have a consistency as a kicker so we believe in him, we trust him and we’re going to continue with him. Hopefully, we’ll see continued growth.”

Myers said he didn’t even know the Jaguars had brought in the kickers for a tryout until a reporter him. He has a low-key personality and doesn’t sound worried about whether he will keep the job.

“As long as I’m here, I just come in here and get better every day,” he said. “If you worry about missing a kick, you’re going to miss more. You’ve got to find a way to work through it.”

He said he missed the extra point in London against Buffalo because he jammed his plant foot. But he doesn’t think he needs to make any changes.

“I’m hitting the ball fine,” he said. “I’m not going to change anything, technique wise. I’m trusting my technique.”

The Jaguars decided to trade veteran Josh Scobee to Pittsburgh and keep Myers. As it turned out, Scobee was cut by the Steelers, but the Jaguars didn’t bring him in for a workout.

But Myers has been more inconsistent than they expected.

–Wide receiver Marqise Lee, who hasn’t played since reinjuring his hamstring in New England, remained sidelined Monday. Bradley said they don’t want to rush him back even after a bye week.

“We’re going to be conservative with him and make sure that when he comes back, he’s fully cleared,” he said. “He was out there today and did short sprints and did, very, very well. He’ll take the next step now and what that means, I’m not sure.”

When Bradley was asked if he might be out two or three more weeks, he said, “I don’t want to put a time frame on it. We’ll see how it goes this week.”

Bradley says the injury is “legit” and can be seen on the MRI.

“I feel bad for him because you see the injury,” he said. “We’ve got to get him fully healed.”

“I can’t do anything until they clear me to make moves,” Lee said. “Just like you guys, I’m waiting.”

He said they will see how he reacts Tuesday from doing the short sprints Monday.

“They pace me a lot,” he said. “I felt good today. Our biggest focus is how you feel after.”

He said he’s matured from last year when he also had hamstring issues although for a shorter period of time.

“Last year, I didn’t know what to do, I was pretty much stressed every day,” Lee said. “That taught me to stay positive.”

Lee says he is on social media and knows some fans question why he’s slow in returning.

“I’m not faking an injury,” he said. “It is what it is. I’ve got to deal with it.”

Lee said he sometimes laughs at the criticism on social media.

“It doesn’t bother me,” he said.

–Bradley declined to say what his plan will be if the Jaguars face a fourth-and-1 at the goal line against the Jets. Toby Gerhart took four shots from the 1-yard line in Buffalo and didn’t score.

“I think every situation is different depending on who you’re playing, the score, time of the game, all of those things go into it,” Bradley said.

He said last week that analytics called for kicking the field goal on fourth down, but it was a “coach’s choice” to go for it.