The Jacksonville Jaguars are bringing three players recovering from injury to London, opening the possibility that Dawuane Smoot, Antonio Johnson, and/or Cooper Hodges will make their season debut(s) soon.
During a press conference Wednesday, Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said Smoot (on PUP list), Hodges (on IR), and Johnson will make the trip overseas.
Smoot, 28, re-signed with the Jaguars in July, but is still recovering from an Achilles tear that ended his 2022 season in December. At the time of the injury, Smoot led the team in sacks.
“In Smoot’s case, obviously we want to get him acclimated into practice,” Pederson said. “Once we activate him, we don’t have to make a decision right away. We want to see where he’s at with kind of the rigors of practice.”
Johnson, a fifth-round draft pick earlier this year, is on the active roster but hasn’t practiced since suffering a hamstring injury in August. On Wednesday, the rookie defensive back was back on the field at the Miller Electric Center.
Fifth-round rookie Antonio Johnson (#26) was back on the practice field today. He’s been out of action since August with a hamstring injury. pic.twitter.com/BGe8JpDqvZ
— Adam Stites (@AdamStites_) September 27, 2023
“In regards to Antonio Johnson, he’ll actually be able to do some things this week just individual-wise just to kind of get him back into practice a little bit,” Pederson said. “Then we can actually practice him next week going into Buffalo [in Week 5] and see where he’s at. … There is a chance that he could make it for the Buffalo game.”
Hodges, a seventh-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft, suffered a knee injury in preseason that landed him on the injured reserve.
“Cooper, we’re not going to rush yet, there’s no need at this time,” Pederson said. “We’ll see how he handles the two weeks over there [in London]. He can’t — obviously, because he’s on IR — he can’t practice with the team. But he can do a lot of stuff off to the side.”
If the Jaguars designate Smoot and/or Hodges for return, it’ll open a 21-day window where those players can practice without counting against the 53-man active roster.
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