Tag: Ezra Cleveland

Jaguars vs. Ravens inactives: Walker Little, Ezra Cleveland active

The Jaguars will have the left side of their offensive line in tact Sunday night against the Ravens.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will have starting offensive linemen Walker Little and Ezra Cleveland in the lineup Sunday night against the Baltimore Ravens.

Ninety minutes ahead of kickoffs, the Jaguars announced six inactives:

Both Tyson Campbell and Andre Cisco were ruled out Friday in the team’s final injury report of the week due to quad and groin injuries, respectively. Brenton Strange’s inactive status isn’t surprising either after the team elevated tight end Josh Pederson from the practice squad Saturday.

Jacksonville had seven players listed as questionable, but only two of them will sit out Sunday: Strange and cornerback Christian Braswell who wasn’t activated from the injured reserve.

For the Ravens, all eyes were on defensive back Kyle Hamilton, who was questionable. He is active and will play Sunday:

Kickoff is scheduled for 8:20 p.m. ET.

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Jaguars rule out 2, list 7 as questionable vs. Ravens in Week 15

The Jaguars will be without starting defensive backs Tyson Campbell and Andre Cisco on Sunday.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will be without two starting defensive backs Sunday night when they play the Baltimore Ravens.

On Friday, the team ruled out cornerback Tyson Campbell and safety Andre Cisco. Second-year cornerback Montaric “Buster” Brown will likely fill in for Campbell and veteran safety Andrew “Dewey” Wingard will probably step in for Cisco.

Another seven Jaguars players are questionable for the Week 15 primetime contest.

Both Jamal Agnew and Christian Braswell are still on injured reserve and had their 21-day practice windows opened earlier this month. If either is available Sunday, that’ll likely be revealed Saturday when the Jaguars decide whether or not they’ll move one or both of them to the active roster.

It’d be a surprise if veteran defensive back Tre Herndon is unavailable after Doug Pederson said earlier Friday that he has cleared concussion protocol and “should be good to go.”

For Baltimore, only two players are questionable and all eyes are on the status of Kyle Hamilton.

During a press conference Friday, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said that Hamilton is “in a good place right now,” but also said “we’ll see how he does the next couple days.” The second-year safety has two interceptions, three sacks, and nine tackles for a loss so far in 2023.

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Trevor Lawrence: Jaguars have to get back to running the ball well

An inability to run effectively in recent weeks is making everything tough for the Jaguars offense.

During an undefeated October for the Jacksonville Jaguars, running back Travis Etienne Jr. had a career-best stretch. Over five games, the third-year back had 565 yards from scrimmage and seven total touchdowns.

It’s been a while since the Jaguars ran the ball that well, though.

While Etienne got into the end zone in each of the last two weeks, he has averaged 3.3 yards per carry since the beginning of November. His highest rushing total in the last five weeks came when he managed to squeak out 56 yards against the Houston Texans on 20 carries.

“You have to be able to run the ball,” Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence said Sunday. “We have to do a better job. We have to find ways to do that.

“When we were playing well as an offense, that was something that we were doing well. We have to get back to that and just find ways to be efficient and stay on track. We weren’t very good on first and second down today [against the Cleveland Browns]. That gets you behind the sticks.”

Against the Browns, Etienne finished with 35 rushing yards on 14 carries.

“I have to be better for my offensive line,” Etienne said in the locker room after the 31-27 loss. “They’re doing a great job out there, I have to continue to hit it, continue to trust in my discipline, and just keep trusting them. They’re gonna continue to trust in me and we want to get this thing rolling.”

It sure doesn’t seem like Etienne is the one to blame, though. After injuries sidelined both Cam Robinson and Walker Little, the Jaguars lost Ezra Cleveland to a knee injury early in the Week 14 loss. Jacksonville’s offensive line has been banged up for much of the year and ranks 28th in ESPN’s run block win rate. At Pro Football Focus, the Jaguars’ 44.2 team run block grade is the worst in the league.

“[We] have to find ways to improve, possibly getting back to some of the schemes that worked earlier in the season or what helped Travis break free,” Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said Monday. “Obviously, the injury situation on the offensive line has affected that just a little bit, having that continuity up front.

“It’s something that we’re focused on and even with [offensive line coach Phil Rauscher], just again, finding those schemes that have worked in our past and trying to tap back into that to see if we can jumpstart the run game.”

The Jaguars’ Week 15 opponent, the Baltimore Ravens, rank 21st in rushing yards allowed per attempt.

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Jaguars PFF grades: Best and worst performers vs. Browns in Week 14

Strong performances by a few Jaguars players were overshadowed by mistakes and miscues.

The Jacksonville Jaguars simply made too many mistakes to beat the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

In the 31-27 loss, the Jaguars turned the ball over four times and punted seven times. While the defense gave up several big plays and nearly 400 yards of total offense, it also forced three turnovers and eight Cleveland punts.

Were the three interceptions thrown by Trevor Lawrence all the fault of the 24-year-old quarterback? His last certainly looked like a misread, but the first two seemed to be a disconnect between Lawrence and his veteran receivers Calvin Ridley and Zay Jones.

At Pro Football Focus, they graded every Jaguars player in the Week 14 game. Here’s who PFF thought stood out most, both positively and negatively, in the Jacksonville loss:

Ezra Cleveland taking reps at OT amid injuries: ‘I’ll play wherever’

The Jaguars appear to be prepping Ezra Cleveland to play at left tackle Sunday if Walker Little is unavailable.

The Jacksonville Jaguars had to do some offensive line shuffling after Cam Robinson landed on injured reserve last week. Walker Little moved from left guard to left tackle and Ezra Cleveland, who was acquired in a midseason trade, slotted in at left guard.

Now Little is hurt too with a hamstring injury that kept him out of the team’s Wednesday and Thursday practices. The plan, it seems, is for Cleveland to play at left tackle for the first time in his NFL career.

“I’ve taken some reps this week out there, getting used to it,” Cleveland said Thursday. “It’s new, but I’m gonna play wherever the team needs me. I don’t think it has to do with comfortability, I’m just gonna go out there and do what I do and try to play the game.”

Cleveland was a left tackle during his collegiate career at Boise State where he was a two-time First Team All-Mountain West selection. He was even drafted as an offensive tackle by the Minnesota Vikings, but played at guard as a rookie and never left the team’s interior offensive line.

So how difficult will it be to make the transition back to offensive tackle?

“I don’t know, I haven’t played a game yet,” Cleveland said. “The practices have been really fun just because it’s something new, but if you ask me that question after this week, I’ll be able to give you a better answer.”

For now, there’s no official word of the plan in the likely scenario that Little won’t be ready to play Sunday against the Cleveland Browns.

“There’s a number of different contingency plans that we could possibly get into based on what gives us the best possibility to go play well,” offensive coordinator Press Taylor said Thursday. “[Cleveland at left tackle] could be one of our options.”

It makes no difference to Cleveland, though.

“I’ve always kinda been a team player and I’ll play wherever I’m needed,” Cleveland said. “I was a left tackle, I played right guard my rookie year. I’ll play wherever. Just wherever the team needs me, I’ll try to do my best.”

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5 Jaguars players to watch vs. the Bengals in Week 13

The left side of the Jaguars’ offensive line will be under the microscope with Cam Robinson out of action.

The Jacksonville Jaguars faced a must-win game last Sunday when they traveled to play the Houston Texans. While they didn’t win by 20 points like Houston did in Week 3, Jacksonville pulled out a win to get a strong hold of the AFC South.

Now the Jaguars will host the Bengals on Monday Night Football. The Week 13 matchup was supposed to be one of Jacksonville’s biggest games of the season; however, with superstar quarterback Joe Burrow out for the season, Jacksonville is a clear favorite.

Here are five Jaguars players to watch when they try to take care of business against the Bengals in Week 13:

Jaguars PFF grades: Best and worst performances vs. Texans in Week 12

Who was the best player on the field Sunday in the Jaguars’ 24-21 win?

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ 24-21 win against the Houston Texans on Sunday was probably the most important and consequential of the team’s 2023 season so far.

By avenging their 20-point loss to Houston earlier in the year, the Jaguars took a strong command of the AFC South with six weeks of football left to play. And while many have made officiating the story of the game, the Jaguars simply made more plays than the Texans.

It’s no accident that Jacksonville finished with 445 yards of total offense, nearly 100 more than the Houston offense. The Texans recorded no sacks while the Jaguars brought down C.J. Stroud four times.

The analysts at Pro Football Focus graded every player’s performance in the critical Week 12 game. Here’s who PFF thought stood out most Sunday:

Cam Robinson injury: Jaguars LT exits with left leg issue

The Jaguars’ starting left tackle was injured early in the team’s Week 12 game against the Texans.

Jacksonville Jaguars left tackle Cam Robinson suffered a left knee injury during the team’s Week 12 game against the Houston Texans.

Robinson was able to walk off the field under his own power, and went into the blue medical tent on the sideline to be evaluated. The Jaguars ruled him questionable to return, but later downgraded him to out.

With Robinson out of the lineup, the Jaguars moved Walker Little from left guard to left tackle and inserted Ezra Cleveland in the void left by Little’s move.

Jacksonville was without Robinson for the first four games of the season while the veteran offensive tackle served a suspension for a performance-enhancing drug policy violation. Little started in his stead with Ben Bartch and Tyler Shatley splitting time at guard.

Cleveland was acquired in a midseason trade from the Minnesota Vikings and saw limited snaps in the Jaguars’ Week 11 win against the Tennessee Titans.

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Breaking down why the Vikings called a toss sweep to Josh Dobbs

The Vikings called a trick play on the third play of the game and it didn’t work. Tyler Forness breaks down why it didn’t

On the third play of the game, Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell called a unique play that didn’t end up working.

Quarterback Josh Dobbs ended up fumbling after cornerback Kareem Jackson speared him, forcing the fumble. The play itself was a gutsy call that has been criticized for not working.

That’s the frustrating thing with play calls. They get criticized when they don’t work and praised when they do. What doesn’t get dissected nearly enough is what the play was designed to do and if the execution is to blame rather than the play call itself.

That’s what we are going to do here. What was the play designed to do and how was the execution?

Jaguars’ Tyson Campbell, Andre Cisco active vs. 49ers

The Jaguars and 49ers will be close to full strength for their Week 10 meeting.

The Jacksonville Jaguars won’t be hampered much by injuries in a Week 10 game against the San Francisco 49ers. While the team will again be without wide receiver Zay Jones, the team made the returns of cornerback Tyson Campbell and safety Andre Cisco official Sunday.

In the team’s list of inactives, released 90 minutes before kickoff, Jones is the only player out due to injury.

Newly acquired offensive lineman Ezra Cleveland, who was questionable due to a toe injury, is also set to make his Jacksonville debut, although he isn’t expected to be in the starting lineup.

The more consequential injury news of the day is that 49ers offensive tackle Trent Williams will play Sunday against the Jaguars.

San Francisco was without Williams and wide receiver Deebo Samuel in the last two games before a Week 9 bye. While Samuel was a full participant in practice this week, Williams sat out Wednesday and was limited both Thursday and Friday. The veteran left tackle was ruled questionable to play.

Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave was also listed as questionable, but is active as well.

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