Category: D.J. Hayden

Jags Week 12 injury report: CB Sidney Jones, WR D.J. Chark amongst notables ruled out vs. Browns

The Jacksonville Jaguars ruled four players out for Week 12’s game against the Cleveland Browns, many of which were starters. On offense the starting players ruled out were receiver D.J. Chark (ribs) and guard Andrew Norwell (forearm). Receiver …

The Jacksonville Jaguars ruled four players out for Week 12’s game against the Cleveland Browns, many of which were starters. On offense the starting players ruled out were receiver D.J. Chark (ribs) and guard Andrew Norwell (forearm). Receiver Chris Conley (hip) will also be joining them after not practicing Friday.

On defense, starting cornerback Sidney Jones IV (Achilles) was the lone player ruled out, leaving Tre Herndon as the Jags’ lone starter at the position.

Chark, Norwell, and Conley surfaced on the injury report after last Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Norwell was expected to miss Week 12’s game as Doug Marrone informed the media that the veteran’s injury would take some time to recover from earlier in the week. Tyler Shatley or rookie Ben Bartch will replace him in the lineup after both registering starts already this season.

Jones’ injury leaves the Jags in a tough predicament because they just placed cornerbacks C.J. Henderson, D.J. Hayden, and Chris Claybrooks on injured reserve. As a result, they are in a situation where they may have to start rookies Luq Barcoo and Josiah Scott Sunday against the Browns. It would mark the first starts for both players, unless the Jags go with veteran Greg Mabin, who was picked up off waivers this week.

The Jags also had two players surface as questionable on the final injury report in running back Dare Ogunbowale (hand) and quarterback Gardner Minshew II (thumb). Minshew will likely be inactive Sunday as he continues to recover from his injury.

As for the other changes on the injury report, receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. (hamstring) and safety Jarrod Wilson (shoulder) were upgraded to full participation while Aaron Lynch (shoulder) was limited as a late addition.

Shenault’s status in particular is huge news as he’s missed the Jags’ last two games. With Conley and Chark out, he will see ample opportunities on the perimeter and has a chance to turn in a strong game when considering the status of Browns cornerback Denzel Ward (calf strain), who was ruled out this week.

Josh Allen, Daniel Thomas, D.J. Hayden all placed on IR

The Jacksonville Jaguars placed several notable names from their defense on injured reserve Tuesday in defensive end Josh Allen (knee), nickleback D.J. Hayden (knee), and rookie safety Daniel Thomas (arm). All three decisions came after a Week 11 …

The Jacksonville Jaguars placed several notable names from their defense on injured reserve Tuesday in defensive end Josh Allen (knee), nickleback D.J. Hayden (knee), and rookie safety Daniel Thomas (arm). All three decisions came after a Week 11 battle with the Pittsburgh Steelers, which left the Jags severely wounded heading into Week 12.

For Hayden, his season will now end because it’s his second time on IR. With it being a contract year for him, Week 11’s game against the Steelers could be his last as a Jaguar. Hayden will exit this season with 18 tackles and a pass breakup.

Like Hayden, Allen also exited Sunday’s game early and had to be helped off the field by trainers with a knee injury. He received good news earlier in the week as it was revealed he had no ligament damage though he’ll miss three weeks or more.

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Thomas is a player who flashed on various occasions since the bye and started in two games against the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers. He also blocked a punt against the Los Angeles Chargers and snagged a interception Sunday against the Steelers. He currently has 18 total tackles (16 solo) and two pass deflections.

Allen and Thomas will be eligible to return after three games. That means it might not be until Week 15’s game against the Baltimore Ravens until we see both or either player take the field in 2020 — if at all.

Jaguars place CB D.J. Hayden on injured reserve

The Jags placed one of their defensive leaders on IR Wednesday, putting an already inexperienced secondary in a tricky situation for Week 5,

The Jacksonville Jaguars have placed nickelback D.J. Hayden on injured reserve after the veteran exited Week 4’s game agains the Cincinnati Bengals with a hamstring injury. The decision comes as Hayden was listed on Wednesday’s injury report and coach Doug Marrone stated that he wasn’t confident in Hayden’s ability to play Sunday against the Houston Texans.

Hayden’s injury came during the second half of Sunday’s game. He had to be helped off the field by a pair of team trainers and was unable to put weight on his hamstring. Once he exited the game, Tre Herndon kicked in to the nickelback position and Sidney Jones played on the outside alongside Chris Claybrooks (for CJ Henderson’s injury).

Herndon will likely be the one to once again play in Hayden’s spot Week 5. The Jags could also play Josiah Scott at the position as he was believed to be Hayden’s future successor at the nickelback spot when drafted in April.

With the team placing Hayden on IR, he won’t be eligible to return to the field until three games have elapsed. That means he can’t return until after the Jags’ game against the Los Angeles Chargers on Nov. 1.

D.J. Hayden confident in Jags’ ability to recover from Week 3 loss

Jags veteran D.J. Hayden is feeling confident in bouncing back from their Week 3 loss with the team showing urgency in practice.

The Jacksonville Jaguars suffered an embarrassing Week 3 loss to the Miami Dolphins, but as many expected, they have already put it behind them. With Week 4 now on their minds, nickelback D.J. Hayden in particular is confident in the Jags’ ability to bounce back as they’ve gotten off to a good week of practice.

“[There’s] a greater sense of urgency, body language,” said Hayden. “You know I’m a real superstitious type of guy and I just get feelings. It’s just something I can’t explain. There’s no textbook of how to explain that. I just get good feelings.”

Up next for the Jags are the Cincinnati Bengals, who have yet to register a win but have been very competitive to start this season. During their Week 1 meeting with the Los Angeles Chargers, they were a missed field goal away from heading into over time. The following week, they had a strong fourth quarter but ultimately lost the game by a score of 35-30. Lastly, on Sunday, they took the Philadelphia Eagles into overtime and ended the battle with a 23-23 tie.

Clearly, with first overall pick Joe Burrow keeping the Bengals in games, the Jags’ secondary is going to need to have a better showing than we’ve seen in the past two weeks. The Jags’ very own first-round selection, C.J. Henderson, in particular is a player who will need to bounce back after a rough night against the Dolphins where he allowed five targets for 62 yards and a touchdown.

With the tough showing now behind him, Hayden stated that he’s also confident in the rookie bouncing back as most of his issues were simple technique flaws that can be ironed out.

 

“CJ [Henderson] obviously had one rookie mistake and I think it was just little mistakes,” Hayden said. “It just kept tagging on. I feel like we didn’t give up any big, explosive plays, but like Coach [Marrone] said, they kind of did this nickel and dime stuff, just stuff here and there. But little technique stuff can fix that stuff right away and we can fix it, so I’m excited.”

As is the case with every team, it would also help if the Jags’ pass rush has a successful day. That may prove to be a little easier than it was in Weeks 1-3 as the Bengals’ offensive line hasn’t been good. If that’s the case, fans could see Henderson and Hayden bounce back, too, which could put the Jags at 2-2 heading into the second quarter of the season.

Doug Marrone, D.J. Chark discuss leadership D.J. Hayden brings to Jags’ locker room

The Jags will be enduring a lot of changes to their locker room but one veteran who will return is D.J. Hayden, who the team has praised.

Training camp marks a good time for NFL teams to start establishing their locker-room leaders and Doug Marrone has already singled out a few for the Jacksonville Jaguars in his press conferences. Among them has been nickelback D.J. Hayden, who will be heading into his eighth season in the league and third with the Jags.

“He’s a guy, as a coach, you never want to take for granted,” Marrone said of the veteran. “He’s always doing the right thing. If I was a young player and I walked into a locker room and I was looking to see what someone does, maybe because I didn’t know, he’d be one of the guys that I look at.”

Marrone is right, for a locker-room that will be among the youngest in 2020, Hayden’s experience could prove to be invaluable. That could especially be the case when looking specifically at how young the Jags are at cornerback between rookie C.J. Henderson, third-year player Tre Herndon, fourth-round selection Josiah Scott, and a couple of undrafted rookies.

Like Marrone, those who’ve been around Hayden have come into camp aware of the leadership Hayden brings to the table. That includes one of the team’s ascending stars D.J. Chark, who has battled Hayden for over two seasons now.

“I love going against D.J. [Hayden],” Chark told the media Friday. “He’s very confident, which is something that I always admire about any player. When you’re confident, it allows me to be confident and talk smack with you. You also can learn from guys like that. He’s very smart. He knows route patterns, based off your system.”

Hayden’s play on the field also hasn’t gone under the radar on a national level either. Just recently, he was named to Touchdown Wire’s top-101 players list by Doug Farrar and was the only Jag listed. Now, it will be a matter of finding out if his play will be infectious to the rest of the Jags’ young secondary. If it is, the Jags veteran could end up being instrumental to the team moving closer to a .500 record or better.

Podcast: Which Jags free-agents could re-sign in 2021?

The Jags’ 2021 free-agency class is full of receivers including Dede Westbrook and Chris Conley. Who could they end up keeping though?

With the football season slowly approaching, Jags Wire contributor Phil Smith and I recorded yet another episode of the “Bleav in Jags Podcast.”

We started this week’s episode off discussing the latest in preseason and training camp news as the league announced that the preseason would be cut in half. Additionally, we discussed the contract signing of DaVon Hamilton and where he fits in the Jaguars plans heading forward.

Afterward, we discussed the latest on defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, who reportedly hasn’t changed his stance about wanting to be traded. With the deadline coming up, we also discussed the possibility of trading him to the Cleveland Browns for David Njoku as proposed by ESPN recently.

Lastly, we tackled our main topic, which was a preview of the Jags’ 2021 free-agency class. With several notable names on the list, we gave our analysis on who could stay or go with notables like Leonard Fournette, Dede Westbrook, Keelan Cole, and more on the last years of their deals.

Feel free to listen to the archived episodes of “Bleav in the Jags,”too, and subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or Spotify.

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PFF grades D.J. Hayden as a top-10 CB for 2019 season

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ defense was downright hard to watch at times, but if there was one player who brought it week after week, it was nickelback D.J. Hayden. The seventh-year veteran had the best season of his career, totaling 42 tackles, two …

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ defense was downright hard to watch at times, but if there was one player who brought it week after week, it was nickelback D.J. Hayden. The seventh-year veteran had the best season of his career, totaling 42 tackles, two sacks, six pass breakups, and a forced fumble on the season.

For the most part, Hayden blanketed those who lined up against him in the slot, and when defenders did catch the ball on him, it was for a minimal gain. His ability to provide above average play at the nickelback position and make tackles were a big part of why he acquired a Pro Football Focus grade of 77.4. According to their regular season research, he also was listed as the league’s tenth-best cornerback on their rankings for 2019.

10. D.J. HAYDEN, JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

The former 12th overall pick of the 2013 NFL Draft has developed better awareness in his ability to play through traffic against picks, rub routes and screens while in man-to-man press coverage.

The Jaguars run a lot of single-high man-to-man coverage and Cover-3 zone, and Hayden flourished within this scheme by allowing the fewest passing yards (210) of any qualifying cornerback. Like McCourty, Hayden is also one of four players at his position who has not allowed a touchdown pass all season. This form of success has bred confidence and new life into Hayden, who was once seen as a first-round bust in Oakland but is now coming off the highest-graded season of his seven-year career.

Hayden tied with Richard Sherman by allowing the third-lowest yards per reception average among cornerbacks (8.4) to go along with the NFL’s 20th-best passer rating when targeted (74.2), proving that sometimes it’s not about when you go in the draft, but rather, where you go.

As a former first round pick for the Oakland Raiders the early stages of his career weren’t as strong as Hayden would’ve liked and he eventually parted ways and found himself in Detroit temporarily. After that, he found his way to Jacksonville as a free-agent in 2018, and what a great decision that turned out to be.

In a time when the Jags’ defensive backs group was going through a lot in 2019, Hayden stepped up not only on the field, but off of it too, by becoming one of the voices of the locker-room. If the team can add some younger interior rushers and help at linebacker, 2020 may be an even better year for Hayden, who still has room to improve.

Jags have close to full participation in practice Thursday

The Jags had all but two players participate in their practice session Thursday in TE Seth DeValve and Dede Westbrook.

The Jacksonville Jaguars only had two players to sit out of practice Thursday for their upcoming game against the Tennessee Titans in tight end Seth DeValve (oblique) and receiver Dede Westbrook (illness), who was a new addition to the injury report. Aside from those two every player on the injury report participated to some capacity.

Receivers D.J. Chark Jr. (hamstring) and Chris Conley (hamstring) and nickelback D.J. Hayden (hip/wrist) were the three players from Wednesday’s injury report who were upgraded from limited to full participation. Safety Ronnie Harrison (eye) and offensive tackle Cam Robinson (knee) also were full participants.

Veterans Calais Campbell (back) and Brandon Linder (shoulder) were the only two limited participants on Thursday’s report. Both were on last week’s injury reports for the same injuries but were able to play in Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts.

WR DJ Chark amongst several players to surface on injury report after battle with Colts

Two of the Jags’ top receivers have found themselves on the injury report after Week 11’s loss to the Colts.

The Jacksonville Jaguars had just one player on their final injury report for Week 11 but exited the game with some new injuries to deal with. Receivers DJ Chark and Chris Conley seemingly were amongst those players who sustained injuries during the Jags’ last game against the Indianapolis Colts as both surfaced on the team’s first injury report for Week 12 with hamstring injuries. Despite their injuries, however, both players were limited.

Joining Chark and Conley as limited participants were nickelback D.J. Hayden (hip/wrist), center Brandon Linder (shoulder) and defensive lineman Calais Campbell (back). All three were on Week 11’s injury report as well, however, Hayden was on the report with a different injury (neck/shoulder).

Offensive tackle Cam Robinson (knee) and safety Ronnie Harrison (eye) were full participants Wednesday after surfacing on the injury report with the same injuries they had on Week 11’s report.

The Jags’ lone non-participant who surfaced on Wednesday’s injury report was tight end Seth DeValve (oblique), who was the only player on Week 11’s final injury report and missed last Sunday’s game.