Injury news – Page 7 – Syndication Server

Report: Texans rule starting RB out vs. Jaguars

The Texans downgraded starting running back Joe Mixon from questionable to out of Houston’s Week 4 matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars in the hours before the game on Sunday, per NFL reporter Jordan Schultz.

Mixon missed Week 3 with an ankle injury, which restricted him to one limited practice session leasing up to Houston’s AFC South bout with Jacksonville. Schultz reported Mixon tested out his ankle before the game and that the Texans decided to rest him for one more week.

Mixon was traded to Houston from Cincinnati, where he began his NFL career in 2017, this offseason. He quickly signed a two-year, $19.5 million contract extension with the Texans to take over as their starting running back.

He generated 184 rushing yards and one touchdown over his first 39 carries with the team, and added six receptions for 44 yards before suffering his injury.

Houston will also be without backup running back Dameon Pierce, who was ruled out Friday with a hamstring injury.

Cam Akers is expected to start in place of Mixon and Pierce after rushing for a combined 53 yards over 16 attempts against Chicago and Minnesota in Weeks 2-3.

The Jaguars and Texans are expected to publish their inactive lists around 11:30 a.m. ET Sunday.

Jaguars place LB Foyesade Oluokun on injured reserve

The Jaguars placed starting linebacker Foyesade Oluokun on injured reserve Saturday in one of several roster moves as they prepare to face the Texans in Houston in Week 4.

Oluokun, the Jaguars’ current leading tackler with 22 on the season, will miss at least the next four games as he nurses a foot injury, reportedly plantar fasciitis, suffered in Jacksonville’s Week 3, 47-10 loss at Buffalo.

Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson earlier this week said he did not view Oluokun as a candidate for injured reserve placement.

“I don’t think so,” Pederson said Wednesday. “Not at this point.”

At the time, Pederson named second-year Jaguars linebacker Ventrell Miller as Oluokun’s replacement in the starting lineup. Miller has logged nine total tackles and one defended pass this season after missing his entire rookie campaign with an Achilles injury in 2023.

Since signing with Jacksonville in 2022, Oluokun has collected 379 tackles with 23 for loss and 5.5 sacks, one interception, 13 defended passes and three forced fumbles.

Oluokun joins fellow starting Jacksonville defender, cornerback Tyson Campbell (hamstring), on the Jaguars’ injured reserve. Campbell will remain there through at least Week 5.

Alongside placing Oluokun on injured reserve, the Jaguars signed practice squad tight end Josiah Deguara to their active roster, promoted cornerback Christian Braswell from the practice squad to active roster via standard elevation, and downgraded safety Darnell Savage Jr. from questionable to out against the Texans.

Pederson names replacement for injured Jaguars LB Foyesade Oluokun

With Foyesade Oluokun reportedly expected to miss “several weeks” due to a foot injury, Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson revealed Wednesday that second-year linebacker Ventrell Miller will step into Oluokun’s spot in Jacksonville’s starting defense.

Miller, Jacksonville’s fourth-round, No. 121 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft, has logged nine total tackles and one defended passes in his first regular season playing for the Jaguars this year, including six tackles against Buffalo in Week 3.

“He’s done really well,” said Pederson. “He’s gotten valuable snaps. Played good the other night, played physical, you know? Obviously there’s some things we can clean up but he’s really done a nice job.”

Miller missed his rookie campaign after suffering an Achilles injury during the 2023 preseason. It was not the first time Miller, who starred at the University of Florida in college, was hurt and sidelined for an extended period of time in his football career.

The Lakeland, Fla. product played through a foot injury during his super senior season with the Gators, posting 74 tackles with 8.5 for loss, one year removed from a bicep tear that limited him to two appearances in 2021.

Miller drew from his previous experience navigating serious injury to prepare for his regular-season debut with the Jaguars this year.

“Man, it was definitely tough. But I done been through it before …” Miller told Jaguars Wire this offseason.

“The work I’ve put in this whole offseason, it’s just flowing in. I came back bigger, faster, stronger, excited for the year, ready to make a play. It’s been a year since I played football, so I’m itching to make a play.”

Oluokun exited Jacksonville’s Week 3, 47-10 loss to Buffalo in the second quarter with what has been reported as plantar fasciitis.

Pederson does not consider Oluokun, Jacksonville’s current and back-to-back-season leader in total tackles, as a candidate for injured reserve placement at this time.

“I don’t think so,” Pederson said. “Not at this point.”

Further details emerge for Jaguars LB Foyesade Oluokun’s foot injury

The Jaguars are expected to be without starting linebacker Foyesade Oluokun for “several weeks” after he suffered a foot injury in Jacksonville’s 47-10 loss to Buffalo on Monday night, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported Tuesday.

Pelissero added that Oluokun, one of the Jaguars’ team captains this season, is dealing with plantar fasciitis. He exited Jacksonville’s Week 3 matchup in the second quarter and was officially ruled out of the contest in the fourth quarter.

The news comes after Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson floated the likelihood that Oluokun would not play against Houston in Week 4 earlier on Tuesday.

“Foye, it’s his foot,” Pederson said. “His is probably more week-to-week right now. There’s a chance that he misses this football game.”

Oluokun is Jacksonville’s leading tackler through three games this season with 22 total, including three for loss and one sack. He has also broken up two passes in coverage.

Oluokun has led the Jaguars in total tackles yearly since signing with the club as a free agent over two years ago, with 173 in 2023 and 184 in 2022.

In 37 appearances with Jacksonville, all starts, Oluokun has recorded 379 tackles with 23 for loss and 5.5 sacks, one interception, 13 defended passes and three forced fumbles.

Listed as a co-first-teamer with Devin Lloyd at weak-side linebacker on Jacksonville’s depth chart, Chad Muma is the top candidate to start in place of Oluokun moving forward. Muma logged 27 defensive snaps against Buffalo and recorded seven total tackles, two of which were solo.

Pederson updates Jaguars’ injuries vs. Bills; Engram, Savage

Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson shared a handful of injury updates Tuesday following Jacksonville’s 47-10 loss at Buffalo in Week 3, for four players who went down against the Bills and two who missed the game after getting hurt earlier in the season.

Linebacker Foyesade Oluokun (foot), right tackle Anton Harrison (knee), rookie cornerback Jarrian Jones (shoulder) and wide receiver Gabe Davis (shoulder) each left the Monday Night Football at different times.

Pederson suggested Oluokun’s situation is more serious than the others but that each player would be evaluated on a day-to-day or week-to-week basis.

“Jarrian is kind of as tolerated with his shoulder. Everything medically this morning, his check-up and things were good. It’s just going to be as tolerated with him,” Pederson explained. “Anton, again it’s his knee, same one he injured the week before. He’s just going to be day-to-day this week, so we’ve got to be careful with him and make sure he’s feeling good going into Sunday.

“Gabe, you know, his shoulder at the end, it’s just something that he’s, again, day-to-day but should be fine, you know, for the game. And then Foye, it’s his foot. His is probably more week-to-week right now, and you know, there is a chance that he misses this football game.”

Oluokun leads the Jaguars with 22 tackles through three games, including one sack and three tackles for loss, He has also defended two passes.

Harrison, Jacksonville’s first-round NFL draft pick last year, missed one play against Cleveland in Week 2 due to his hurt knee. He took the field for 47 of the Jaguars’ 71 offensive snaps against the Bills in Week 3.

Jones, who has filled in for injured safety/nickel cornerback Darnell Savage Jr. over the last two weeks, has tallied six tackles to begin his debut NFL campaign. He hurt his shoulder while tackling Buffalo running back James Cook on Jacksonville’s first defensive series of the game.

Davis experienced a shoulder injury in the matchup’s final minutes after catching two passes for 18 yards.

Pederson shared that Savage (quadriceps) should return to action in Week 4 against Houston after being sidelined against Cleveland and Buffalo. After signing a three-year, $21.8 million free-agent contract with Jacksonville in March, Savage tallied two pass breakups in his Jaguars debut versus Miami.

Pederson did not express as much confidence in tight end Evan Engram’s availability, however, after he, like Savage missed Weeks 2-3. Engram caught one pass for four yards in Week 1.

“It’ll be close, it’ll be close. But again, a short week. I don’t want to risk anything with Evan. We’ll see. We’ll see tomorrow where he’s at and go from there,” said Pederson. “But we should have Savage back this week, which will be good.”

Jaguars lose rookie CB to injury vs. Bills

The Jaguars ruled rookie cornerback Jarrian Jones out for the remainder of Monday Night Football against the Bills with a shoulder injury.

Jones suffered the injury when he tackled Buffalo running back James Cook during the Bills’ first series of the game in the first quarter.

Jones, who filled in at nickel cornerback for the Jaguars with starter Darnell Savage Jr. unable to play due to a quadriceps injury, finished with two tackles in the contest.

Jacksonville’s third-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft, Jones logged 100 total snaps over his first two appearances with the team, 74 on defense and 26 on special teams. Including Week 3, he is up to six tackles in his career.

The Jaguars promoted cornerback Christian Braswell from their practice squad via standard elevation on Monday, after ruling Savage out of Week 3 on Sunday. Braswell stepped in for Jones immediately following his injury.

Jacksonville entered the matchup without starting cornerback Tyson Campbell as well, Campbell is currently on the Jaguars’ injured reserve due to a hamstring injury suffered in Week 1.

Jaguars vs. Bills: Inactive lists

The Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills have finalized their inactive lists ahead of Monday Night Football in Orchard Park, New York.

The Jaguars scratched seven players, including injured starters, tight end Evan Engram and safety Darnell Savage Jr., after elevating tight end Josiah Deguara and cornerback Christian Braswell from their practice squad on Monday.

The Bills made five players inactive, including, like the Jaguars, two injured starters: Linebacker Terrel Bernard and cornerback Taron Johnson.

Find Jacksonville and Buffalo’s Week 3 inactive lists below.

Jaguars inactive list

TE Evan Engram
OL Javon Foster
OL Cole Van Lanen
DE Myles Cole
DT Esezi Otomewo
DT Jordan Jefferson
S Darnell Savage Jr.

Analysis: As expected, Engram (hamstring) and Savage (quadriceps) will each miss their second consecutive game.

Notably, rookie defensive lineman and Jacksonville’s second-round pick in the NFL draft, Maason Smith, is active after being a healthy scratch in Week 2.

Seventh-round rookie defensive end Myles Cole is inactive after appearing in Weeks 1-2 and logging 25 total snaps. Fourth-round rookies, offensive tackle Javon Foster and defensive lineman Jordan Jefferson, are healthy scratches for the third game in a row.

Backup offensive tackle Cole Van Lanen and reserve defensive tackle Esezi Otomewo will not dress. Otomewo was active in Week 2 and recorded two assisted tackles.

Bills inactive list

OT Ryan Van Demark
LB Terrel Bernard
LB Edefuan Ulofoshio
CB Taron Johnson
S Mike Edwards

Analysis: Bernard (pectoral) and Johnson (forearm) were both ruled out by Bills head coach Sean McDermott on Wednesday.

Expected to start in place of Bernard and Johnson are Baylon Spector at linebacker and Cam Lewis at nickel corner.

Jaguars make two P.S. elevations before MNF vs. Bills

The Jaguars promoted tight end Josiah Deguara and defensive back Christian Braswell from their practice squad to the active roster ahead of Jacksonville’s Monday Night Football matchup with Buffalo, bolstering their depth at each position with starters Evan Engram and Darnell Savage Jr. injured and unavailable for Week 3.

Both promotions were made via standard elevation.

Jacksonville ruled Engram (hamstring) out on Saturday and downgraded Savage (quadriceps) from questionable to out on Sunday.

Deguara, who spent the first four seasons of his NFL career with Green Bay, signed with Jacksonville this offseason and joined the Jaguars’ practice squad following preseason roster cuts in August.

In 50 appearances and 10 starts with the Packers, Deguara caught 47 passes for 436 yards and two touchdowns.

Braswell joins Jacksonville’s active roster for the second week in a row, filling out the cornerback room. Rookie corner Jarrian Jones played exclusively as a slot cornerback in place of Savage, a hybrid safety and nickel, in Week 2.

Jacksonville’s seventh-round, No. 202 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft, Braswell has appeared in four games with the Jaguars, having logged 14 special teams snaps.

Pederson: Jaguars TE Evan Engram ‘probably’ out vs. Bills

Jacksonville head coach Doug Pederson on Saturday cast doubt on tight end Evan Engram being available for the Jaguars’ Week 3, Monday Night Football matchup in Buffalo against the Bills.

Engram suffered a hamstring injury in the hours before Jacksonville hosted Cleveland on Sunday, forcing him out of the contest.

“Evan, probably not going to make it,” Pederson said. “He tried this week, just not there yet. Hopefully next week, we’ll see.”

Pederson added that Engram likely will not travel with the team to Buffalo and instead remain in Jacksonville to continue treatment for his injury.

Engram caught one pass for five yards in Jacksonville’s season-opener at Miami on Sept. 8, an uncharacteristic performance for the tight end following his 114-reception, 963-yard, four-touchdown campaign with the Jaguars in 2023.

Through just over two seasons with the club, Engram has caught 188 passes for 1,734 yards and eight touchdowns.

Pederson also provided an update on starting Jaguars safety Darnell Savage Jr., who missed Week 2 and has been limited in practice this week due to a quadriceps injury.

“Darnell, we’ll give him one more day, today. See if he can push through it. Don’t want to risk anything further, but we’ll see where he’s at the end of the day,” Pederson said.

Savage, who signed a three-year, $21.8 million free-agent deal with the Jaguars in March, tallied two defended passes in his debut with Jacksonville, against Miami in Week 1.

Starting offensive tackle Cam Robinson (knee) and running back Tank Bigsby (shoulder) are slated to play in Week 3, per Pederson.

Ryan Nielsen looking forward to Jaguars DB Darnell Savage Jr.’s return

Following the versatile defensive back’s Week 2 absence due to a quadriceps injury, Jacksonville defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen is looking forward to having starting safety Darnell Savage Jr. back on game day.

Savage, who signed a three-year, $21.8 million free-agent deal with the Jaguars in March, experienced his injury in practice last Thursday, leading him to be ruled out against the Browns on Friday. He returned to practice in a limited fashion this week.

“Having him back, now we’ve got another guy out there who’s a good player and allows some other guys to free up in personnel packages and do things like that,” Nielsen explained on Friday.

“So, we never want to lose a guy for a game or two games or whatever it is, but happy to have him back and get him back into the role and routine of playing football and we’ll see him out there on Monday.”

Nielsen’s comment follows that of Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson, who on Thursday expressed that “hopefully” Savage will be available for Jacksonville’s Week 3, Monday Night Football matchup with Buffalo.

Although his sample size in the Jaguars’ defensive scheme is limited to one game, Savage has already emerged as a valuable, multi-positional contributor under Nielsen.

Savage logged snaps at four different defensive positions in various alignments during Week 1 against Miami: 25 as a slot cornerback, 11 as a free safety, 11 as a box safety and two as an outside linebacker.

Savaged recorded two defended passes and, according to Pro Football Focus, allowed two receptions over five targets for four yards against the Dolphins.

While he is eager to see Savage back in action, Nielsen commended rookie Jaguars cornerback Jarrian Jones for his performance in place of the starter against the Browns. Jones took the field for 57 snaps defensively in Week 2, exclusively as a slot corner.

“You always want to have good players, and he’s a good player. But last week didn’t feel like — you know, next man up, and Jarrian went out there and he performed pretty well,” Nielsen said. “As well as the group, thought we covered really well last week.”

Although Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson completed 64.7% of his passes against Jacksonville in Week 2, the Jaguars limited the quarterback to 186 passing yards with no touchdowns scored through the air.

Jones, the Jaguars’ third-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft, allowed three receptions over four targets for 26 yards to Browns pass-catchers, per PFF.