Quarterback Gardner Minshew and safety Andrew Wingard weren’t the only players the Jacksonville Jaguars added to the active roster Tuesday morning as one other player joined them. They also got their highest-graded defensive player back off the Active/ Physically Unable to Perform list in nickelback D.J. Hayden.
We have activated QB Gardner Minshew II and S Andrew Wingard from our Reserve/COVID-19 list and have moved CB D.J. Hayden off the Active/Physically Unable to Perform list.
All three players are now on the active roster. pic.twitter.com/ZvX3bc9GtZ
— #DUUUVAL (@Jaguars) August 4, 2020
Hayden, 30, was placed on the Jags’ Active/Physically Unable to Perform list alongside tight end James O’Shaughnessy on August 1. Per coach Doug Marrone, the reason for his placement on the list was because he had a minor procedure done during the offseason, but wasn’t able to see the team doctors in the process to monitor his progress.
“D.J. [Hayden] had a minor procedure done, in the offseason, we knew about it. If we would have been able to bring him in here [he could have rehabbed here] but because of the pandemic we were not able to do that,” Marrone said to the media Monday. “Obviously, we are just being cautious with that and making sure that he’s fine.”
Hayden, who battled a neck/shoulder injury in 2019, will be coming off a solid season where he was able to help in a variety of ways, totaling 41 tackles (five of which were for loss), two sacks, and six pass breakups. He looked about as good as any starting nickelback in the league, which also helped him to be named to Touchdown Wire’s top-101 players list last week.
With the Jags secondary being young, it’s good to see that Hayden is trending in the right direction. He’ll now be set to take the field with rookie corner C.J. Henderson on one side and Tre Herndon or Rashaan Melvin on the other.
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