While his sidelining quickly fell under the radar as news of star Jaguars tight end Evan Engram’s hamstring injury surfaced minutes later, defensive tackle Maason Smith appearing on the inactive list for Jacksonville’s Week 2 matchup with Cleveland came as a surprise.
Smith, the Jaguars’ No. 48 overall pick in the second round of the 2024 NFL draft, was not listed on Jacksonville’s injury report last week, making him a healthy scratch for the contest.
The rookie logged 29 defensive snaps in his NFL debut in Week 1 against Miami but did not appear on the box score.
Asked about the decision Monday, Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson explained that Smith’s game status was not determined necessarily by his performance, but by that of others in practice last week.
“You’ve got 53 players each week and I get a chance to select the 48,” Pederson noted. “Obviously, I visit with the defensive staff and it kind of goes too off of the prior week.
“So, it’s not necessarily what Maason did. I think guys like [defensive tackles] Big O [Esezi Otomewo] and Jeremiah [Ledbetter] also had good weeks of preparation and practice.”
Ledbetter and Otomewo were active for Week 2 after not dressing against Miami, with defensive tackle Tyler Lacy, who played against the Dolphins in Week 1, out Sunday with a toe injury.
Ledbetter and Otomewo respectively recorded 36 and 25 defensive snaps against Cleveland, combining for five tackles.
Lacy’s status for Week 3 could impact the number of, and which, defensive tackles Jacksonville keeps active against Buffalo on Monday night. Pederson acknowledged the opportunity Smith will have in preparation for the matchup to earn one of those spots.
“It’s just an opportunity for Maason to learn and put himself in a position this week to try to be elevated. So, it was nothing that he didn’t do. I just think it was a fact that Jeremiah and Big O had opportunities to be up this week.”