Per coach Doug Marrone, the Jacksonville Jaguars will likely be without running back James Robinson for their season finale against the Indianapolis Colts. With that being the case, it looks like the undrafted rookies’ phenomenal season has come to a close as he’s currently third in the NFL in rushing with 240 carries for 1,070 yards, and 10 total touchdowns.
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“I was holding out hope. I really was, but it doesn’t look like he’s going to be up for our game. I think that’s safe to say that he’ll be out,” Marrone said Wednesday.
Robinson sustained an ankle injury late in Week 15’s game against the Baltimore Ravens and wasn’t able to practice heading into last week’s game against the Chicago Bears. As a result, he was ruled out this past Sunday and Dare Ogunbowale started in his place.
Earlier in the week, Marrone stated that Robinson was still dealing with some swelling, so the rookie being ruled out isn’t surprising. While it would’ve been nice to see him beat the record set by undrafted running back Dominic Rhodes (1,104 yards), holding Robinson out is definitely the right decision.
The argument could be made that Robinson was the biggest surprise of the NFL’s whole rookie class. The Jags took a leap of faith by waiving running back Leonard Fournette before the regular season, but the staff obviously had a hunch that Robinson was talented. Of course, he then did his part by taking the opportunity and running with it (literally), putting up a rookie season that won’t be forgotten despite how it ended.