The sight of defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan leaving the field in the middle of practice to head to the training room brought back bad memories of last season.
Jernigan walked off without any help, but he seemed to be moving stiffly. After the play Jernigan appeared to get hurt, he looked to be grabbing at something in his back. He missed nearly three-quarters of the practice with what is being diagnosed as a minor rib injury.
A year ago, the former Florida State star who was drafted in the second round in 2014 missed chunks of the preseason last summer with a foot and a knee injury.
After sitting out the season-opener against the Denver Broncos in 2015, Jernigan played the remaining 15 games. He finished with 37 tackles and four sacks, the same number of sacks he had in 12 games as a rookie.
Jernigan never seemed to be 100 percent, and in three games — in his first game in Week 2 against the Oakland Raiders, as well as against Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals — he didn't make a tackle.