Getting Darren Waller back this week could be big. Just his return to practice this week has brought some excitement. But we’re far from being out of the woods with Waller. Whether he is available for the game will not be known until hours beforehand.
“For Darren, we’ll kind of see what the soreness level is tomorrow morning when he comes in and what the rest of the walk-thrus look like for him and how he feels Sunday morning will explain whether he’s up or not or the amount of work he gets in the game,” Interim Head Coach Rich Bisaccia said Friday. “Just kind of waiting for the next few days to see how he feels after the three days of a few reps during each period.”
Bisaccia added that Waller actually saw more work in Thursday’s walk-thru than on Friday. And it’s important to also consider that even if Waller is able to go, he will probably be on a snap count as it’s been a while since he practiced fully.
“He worked a little bit harder the day before and we’re really just waiting each morning to see what his soreness level is and how he feels that he can possible get through it,” Bisaccia continued. “If he does go and can play for us, we’re certainly going to be cognizant of where his cardio is and take as much information from him, not only the game, but we have for practice as well, the reps that he gets.”
Also limited in practice today were running back Josh Jacobs (ribs) and defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins (back). Hankins, who missed the game last week in Indianapolis, will be reevaluated Saturday morning. Jacobs’s issue is one he’s been dealing with for a while. According to Bisaccia, it’s a pain tolerance issue for Jacobs.
“That’s been kind of what its been actually for him for a few weeks,” Bisaccia said of Jacobs fighting through the injury. “It’s an interior issue on his body and he’s done a good job of dealing with it, he’s done a good job of working on treatment in the training room and we have a full expectation that he’ll be ready to go. We’ll certainly be smart with his reps as well.”
All three players saw only a couple reps early in today’s practice as the team is trying to be careful with them. They have one more shot to get into the playoffs and could certainly use their Pro Bowl tight end, workhorse running back, and starting nose tackle in that game.
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