Tag: dawuane smoot

Dawuane Smoot is Jaguars nominee for Walter Payton Man of the Year

Dawuane Smoot is a nominee for one of the NFL’s most prestigious honors.

Jacksonville Jaguars veteran outside linebacker Dawuane Smoot is the team’s nominee for the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.

The Jaguars made the announcement on the video scoreboards Monday night during the first quarter of a Week 13 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Smoot, 28, was the Jaguars’ third-round selection in the 2017 NFL draft and is the longest tenured member of the team’s defense. He spent much of the 2023 offseason as a free agent after suffering an Achilles tear late in the 2022 season, but was re-signed by the Jaguars before training camp.

In seven seasons with the Jaguars, Smoot has 23.5 sacks and 27 tackles for loss.

For My Cause My Cleats week, Smoot wore cleats supporting The Elsie Academy, a bilingual preschool he and his wife are in the process of opening in Jacksonville.

Former Jaguars defensive lineman Calais Campbell is the only player from the team to ever win the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, which has existed since 1970.

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Dawuane Smoot: ‘I’m just about where I’d be’ if I had a training camp

Dawuane Smoot says he’s steadily getting back to full speed.

Dawuane Smoot’s return to the field from an Achilles tear that ended his 2022 season hasn’t exactly been dynamic so far. The Jacksonville Jaguars outside linebacker has recorded four pressures in as many games with one sack.

According to Smoot, it’s largely because he’s only just getting back up to game speed.

“I’ve seen in the last two weeks, my get-off has gotten a lot better,” Smoot said Thursday. “My quickness is getting better, my pressures are getting better. It’s week to week.

“I would definitely say it was hard getting back and coming into it without [training] camp, without practice, and just thrown out there, it was a little tough. I’m now, what, four weeks in? That’s like the end of camp. I’m just about where I’d be at the beginning of the season.”

Smoot, 28, suffered his season-ending injury on Dec. 22 last year, but spent training camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list and began the season on injured reserve. In October, Smoot finally made his return to the practice field and made his 2023 debut on Oct. 15 against the Indianapolis Colts.

If the veteran pass rusher has another gear to hit in the last couple months of the season, it would be welcomed by the Jaguars defense. Only four teams have fewer sacks than Jacksonville and Josh Allen accounts for half of the team’s 18 through the first 10 weeks of the season.

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Colts vs. Jaguars inactives: Devin Lloyd, Dawuane Smoot active Week 6

The Jaguars’ defense is officially getting a couple of players back on Sunday.

The Jacksonville Jaguars defense will officially have inside linebacker Devin Lloyd and outside linebacker Dawuane Smoot back in the lineup Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.

With kickoff 90 minutes away, the Jaguars released their list of inactives for Week 6 and it didn’t have any surprises. Wide receiver Zay Jones and offensive lineman Walker Little were already ruled out by the team due to knee injuries suffered last week against the Buffalo Bills.

Fifth-round rookie Yasir Abdullah played in the first five games of the season, but is a healthy scratch for the first time with the return of Smoot. Lloyd is expected to play with a cast over his thumb after undergoing surgery.

The Colts’ most notable inactive is right tackle Braden Smith, who was ruled out by the team Friday.

Jacksonville and Indianapolis previously met in Week 1 when the Jaguars traveled to Lucas Oil Stadium and earned a 31-21 win.

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Jaguars rule out 4 players, Colts to sit 1 in Week 6 matchup

The Jaguars ruled out four players and listed linebacker Devin Lloyd as questionable for a Week 6 game against the Colts.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will be without wide receiver Zay Jones, offensive lineman Walker Little, cornerback Christian Braswell, and defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton when they play the Indianapolis Colts in Week 6, the team announced Friday.

Questionable for the matchup is linebacker Devin Lloyd, who missed the last two weeks due to a thumb injury that required surgery.

None are surprises and Lloyd appears in line to return to the lineup, although he’ll be wearing a cast over his injured right hand.

“It doesn’t change anything, but from a grip standpoint, he just can’t bend that thumb because it’s immobilized basically,” Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said of Lloyd’s cast Friday. “He has the ability to use his four fingers, but he says he feels fine. He feels comfortable using it the more time he’s out there, just catching a football is probably not the most ideal with a cast on your wrist.”

A notable absence on the injury report is Dawuane Smoot, who is set to play in his first game since an Achilles injury ended his 2022 season.

For the Colts, the offensive line will be the question mark with right tackle Braden Smith out due to various injuries.

Indianapolis will likely start rookie Blake Freehand at right tackle in Smith’s place after he started at left tackle in the last two weeks. The Colts also had an ankle/foot problem pop up for Ryan Kelly that kept him out of practice Friday and has the center listed as questionable.

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Jaguars not planning ‘pitch count’ for Dawuane Smoot in return game

Doug Pederson isn’t worried about capping Dawuane Smoot’s snaps in his first game of the 2023 season.

Jacksonville Jaguars outside linebacker Dawuane Smoot is “good to go” for Sunday and is set to play his first game since suffering an Achilles tear in December, head coach Doug Pederson said Friday.

While the team doesn’t want to push Smoot too hard in his return, Pederson also said that there won’t be any planned limit on his play time against the Indianapolis Colts.

“He brings a veteran leadership and presence out there,” Pederson said. “You can play him in base defense, you can play him in nickel in pass rush situations. There’s his production that comes from being inside and all of that on third down and stuff.

“I don’t think you want to put him on a pitch count, but I think you have to monitor, and you don’t want to get his rep count too high. But at the same time, you want to let him get comfortable with the game and see how he is doing throughout the course of three hours or so that you’re out there.”

Smoot, 28, played a rotational role during the 2022 season with Josh Allen and Travon Walker manning the starting roles at outside linebacker. That’ll still be the case in 2023 with Smoot and K’Lavon Chaisson getting the majority of their snaps in relief of the starting duo.

Last season, Smoot averaged 29.7 snaps per game — or about 40 percent of the team’s defensive snaps. This year, Walker has been on the field 83 percent of the time and Allen has been on the field for 73 percent of the snaps.

It shouldn’t be difficult for the Jaguars to work Smoot into the mix against the Colts without pushing his snap count too high.

Smoot has 22.5 sacks in the last four seasons with exactly five to six sacks in each year. He was leading the Jaguars in sacks last season when he suffered his season-ending injury in Week 16 against the New York Jets.

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5 Jaguars players to watch vs. the Colts in Week 6

Here are five Jaguars players to watch in their Week 6 tilt versus the Indianapolis Colts:

The Jacksonville Jaguars had a successful trip to London. They turned their 1-2 record into a 3-2 one as they prepare to take on the Indianapolis Colts, who they already played and beat in Week 1.

Despite losing in their season opener, the Colts won three of their last four and are also 3-2. So the Jaguars can’t expect to face a cakewalk.

The Colts will be without starting quarterback Anthony Richardson, who’s now on the team’s injured reserve. Their fill-in is Gardner Minshew II, who started for the Jaguars to begin his NFL career.

Here are five Jaguars players to watch in their Week 6 matchup against the Colts:

Devin Lloyd limited, Dawuane Smoot full practice participant Wednesday

Jaguars linebackers Devin Lloyd and Dawuane Smoot are making progress toward a return to the lineup.

The Jacksonville Jaguars were unsurprisingly without wide receiver Zay Jones and offensive lineman Walker Little when they hit the practice field Wednesday ahead of a Week 6 game against the Indianapolis Colts. But the team saw encouraging progress from a couple defensive players.

Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd was back on the field Wednesday, two weeks after undergoing surgery on his thumb. The team also listed outside linebacker Dawuane Smoot as a full participant, providing more optimism that he’ll be available Sunday to make his 2023 debut.

Smoot isn’t officially on the active roster yet after beginning the season on the PUP list. Last week, the Jaguars opened his 21-day window to return, meaning the team can activate him any time before Oct. 25.

Five players were listed on the Colts’ injury report Wednesday, although three were full participants. Only tight end Mo Allie-Cox and offensive tackle Braden Smith were missing from practice.

Not listed on the Colts’ report is quarterback Anthony Richardson, who was officially placed on the team’s injured reserve Wednesday. Other Indianapolis players on the IR include cornerback Dallis Flowers and tight end Jelani Woods.

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Dawuane Smoot could make 2023 debut in Week 6 vs. Colts

Doug Pederson says Dawuane Smoot’s season debut could be days away.

Jacksonville Jaguars pass rusher Dawuane Smoot’s return to the field is coming soon. The 275-pound outside linebacker has a chance at making his 2023 debut Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts, according to Jaguars coach Doug Pederson.

“Smoot’s fine,” Pederson said in a Wednesday press conference. “We activated him last week in London and he’ll have another week this week. Hopefully, if everything goes well, there’s a chance he could play this football game.”

Smoot, 28, was leading the Jaguars in sacks last season when he suffered an Achilles tear in December. After becoming a free agent in the offseason, the veteran pass rusher finally re-signed with Jacksonville, days before the start of training camp.

He began the 2023 season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, but Smoot’s 21-day window to return was opened last week, allowing the outside linebacker to return to practice.

A third-round pick in the 2017 NFL draft, Smoot finished his first two seasons without a sack and has recorded five to six sacks in the last four seasons. Through the first five weeks of the 2023 season, Josh Allen has recorded six sacks, Travon Walker has two, and K’Lavon Chaisson has one. The team’s nine total sacks ranks 26th in the NFL.

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Jaguars WRs Zay Jones, Jamal Agnew active vs. Bills

The Jaguars have their wide receiving corps back to healthy for a Week 5 game against the Bills.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will officially have wide receivers Zay Jones and Jamal Agnew back in the lineup Sunday.

Jones, who missed two games, and Agnew, who was out last week, were both absent from the Jaguars’ short list of inactive players:

Also missing from the list is rookie defensive back Antonio Johnson, who has been dealing with a hamstring injury since August. The fifth-round pick is set to make his NFL debut and will likely be a contributor on special teams.

The Jaguars opened the possibility that Dawuane Smoot would make his 2023 debut earlier this week when the team opened his 21-day window to return from the PUP list. But Smoot was never activated ahead of Sunday, so he’s still not a current member of the 53-man roster and doesn’t need to be listed as inactive.

Buffalo similarly opened Von Miller’s 21-day window earlier this week, but unlike the Jaguars, the Bills officially activated Miller on Saturday. With the veteran pass rusher not listed among the team’s inactives, he’s set to play against the Jaguars on Sunday.

Hamlin, who has made an inspiring return to football after suffering cardiac arrest on the field last season, has been active for just one game so far this year. Bills cornerback Kaiir Elam, a 2022 first-round pick, is set to make his season debut after being a healthy scratch in the first four weeks.

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Jaguars rule out Dawuane Smoot, list 4 as questionable vs. Bills

The Jaguars ruled out four players, including Dawuane Smoot, for Sunday and listed four more as questionable.

The Jacksonville Jaguars ruled out four players and listed four more as questionable for a Week 5 game against the Buffalo Bills.

Outside linebacker Dawuane Smoot, who rejoined the Jaguars at practice this week as he begins his return from the PUP list, was among the group that won’t play Sunday.

Receivers Zay Jones and Jamal Agnew are both questionable, although Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said he’s optimistic both will play.

Rookie safety Antonio Johnson, who has been dealing with a hamstring issue since August, should be “up and active this week” for the first time in his career, Pederson told reporters.

For the Bills, two players were ruled out and two were listed as questionable.

Defensive end Greg Rousseau is tied for second on the team in sacks with three. While veteran pass rusher Von Miller is listed as questionable to make his season debut, he told reporters Friday that there’s a “94.5 percent chance” he’s ready to go Sunday.

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