The Jacksonville Jaguars’ injury report was one with many names on it, but one player who seemingly has been cleared to return is placekicker Josh Lambo. After being designated to return from injured reserve (with a left hip injury) earlier in the week, the team officially activated him Thursday.
We have made the following transactions:
▪ Activated K Josh Lambo from reserve/injured-designated for return
▪ Promoted TE Ben Ellefson to the active roster
▪ Placed DT Abry Jones (ankle) on reserve/injured
▪ Released K Jon Brown and DE Josh Mauro pic.twitter.com/6mBCM9JRCq— #DUUUVAL (@Jaguars) October 22, 2020
Lambo’s return is a huge one for the Jags as their kicking game has struggled since his absence which dates back to after Week 2’s game against the Tennessee Titans. The Jags went through four kickers while Lambo recovered due to injuries or struggles on the field in Brandon Wright, Aldrick Rosas, Stephen Hauschka, and Jon Brown.
Of course, with Brown being the Jags’ active kicker Week 6, he was released upon Lambo’s return. Defensive end Josh Mauro was released, too, after spending time on the commissioner’s exempt list. The veteran was placed on the list after serving a five-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs and also had to be placed on the Jags’ Reserve/ COVID-19 list this past weekend.
Mauro’s release made room for the Jags to promote undrafted rookie tight end, Ben Ellefson, from their practice squad to their main roster. Ellefson’s promotion is likely a result of the Jags’ injury situation at tight end as veteran Tyler Eifert didn’t practice Wednesday or Thursday with a neck injury.
Ellefson was able to gain some experience earlier this season, participating in the Jags’ Week 1 game against the Indianapolis Colts and Week 2’s game against the Titans. While he didn’t register any catches in those games, Week 2’s game marked a start for him and he was able to register 30 snaps when combining his snaps from both games.
Lastly, the Jags placed veteran defensive tackle Abry Jones on injured reserve with an ankle injury. The decision came after he didn’t participate in practice Thursday with the injury. As a result of Thursday’s transaction, Jones won’t be eligible to return until three more games, which means he’ll have to sit out of their games against the Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans, and Green Bay Packers.