Tag: Jacksonville Jaguars

Jags injury report: TE Tyler Davis misses second practice

Jags TE Tyler Davis may miss his first game due to an knee injury as he’s missed two days of practice this week.

The Jacksonville Jaguars only had three players to miss practice Thursday as the team inches closer to their season opener against the Indianapolis Colts. Those players were tight ends James O’Shaughnessy (veteran day off) and Tyler Davis (knee), and defensive end Adam Gotsis (veteran day off).

Rookie cornerback Josiah Scott (shoulder) also surfaced on the report as a new addition, but was a full participant.

With Davis being the only player in jeopardy of missing Sunday’s game the Jags seem to be in good shape. The only concern some might have is entering Week 1’s game with just two tight ends in O’Shaughnessy and Tyler Eifert, both of whom have had injury concerns in the past.

One thing worth noting is that the Jags have fullback Bruce Miller on the roster, who can also take on some duties at tight end if needed. The Jags also have tight ends Ben Ellefson and Matt Flanagan on practice squad if needed.

Running back Devine Ozigbo was also listed on the injury report, however, we’ve already reported that he was sent to injured reserve. To fill his spot on the roster the Jags signed former Tampa Bay Bucs running back Dare Ogunbowale.

D.J. Chark emphasizes Jags’ support for Gardner Minshew

While some may feel skeptical about Gardner Minshew’s ability, D.J. Chark made it clear that he or the Jags aren’t amongst that crowd.

After a spring and summer of uncertainty, football is finally back and the NFL will kick things off tonight with a matchup between the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs in a Thursday Night Football showdown.

For the Jags, who play on Sunday, this season could be the start of something special. Gardner Minshew II will start after a rookie season during which he garnered the attention of many around the league. This time around, Minshew will face mounting pressure to live up to the hype as he begins his first season as a true starter. 

Naturally, the teammates who’ve been closest to Minshew during the offseason are among his biggest believers after watching his growth first-hand. When asked Wednesday about the second-year quarterback’s growth, D.J. Chark Jr. shared his thoughts on Minshew’s performance as team captain. 

“[It’s been] just from confidence of filling in, to just being his team—being the captain,” Chark said. “I think that’s a big jump because you know that the guys in the locker room support you and they want you to succeed. [As] opposed to wishing that somebody else was quarterback and things like that. So, I think that’s the biggest thing that transfers on the field—translates to the field because when you’re dropping back, everybody on the team wants you to succeed.”

Chark’s statements come after former Jags running back Leonard Fournette called Tom Brady the only legit quarterback he’s had. While Minshew doesn’t have a large body of work to make a call on, it seems that Chark wanted to make it clear that the current locker room isn’t among his list of doubters. 

All of that said, Minshew will get his shot to further validate his rookie success Sunday against the Jags’ longtime foes in the Indianapolis Colts. While a win wouldn’t necessarily make or break the season for the Jags, it would be huge for the team’s momentum and put another feather in the cap of Minshew to silence his critics.

Former Badger running back signs with the Jacksonville Jaguars

After being cut last week by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, former Wisconsin Badger running back…

After being cut last week by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, former Wisconsin Badger running back Dare Ogunbowale found a new NFL home yesterday as he signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Ogunbowale was a team captain for the Buccaneers a year ago so his release was surprising news, though made sense with the team bringing in Leonhard Fournette recently to complete the running back room.

The former Badger figures to be a big piece in the Jaguars’ running back rotation as the only backs ahead of him on the roster are Chris Thompson, Devine Ozigbo and James Robinson.

The slot-switching between Fournette and Ogunbowale actually bodes well for the former Badger’s future in the NFL as he now has a path to regular carries and touches in Jacksonville instead of sitting behind Ronald Jones II and LeSean McCoy in Tampa Bay.

 

Check in to BadgersWire throughout the NFL season as we keep up with former Badgers in the NFL and analyze their paths as NFL players.

Jags officially sign RB Dare Ogunbowale, send Devine Ozigbo to IR

With Devine Ozigbo recently sustaining a hamstring injury, the Jags went to the free-agency wire to find a replacement in Dare Ogunbowale.

As previously reported, the Jacksonville Jaguars were in the process of signing former Tampa Bay Bucs running back Dare Ogunbowale and completed the transaction Thursday morning. To make room for his addition, they placed running back Devin Ozigbo (hamstring) on injured reserve.

Ozigbo was projected to see a solid workload alongside James Robinson and Chris Thompson this year as the team recently waived Leonard Fournette. However, after showing up on the injury report Wednesday, his time on the field will be put on hold.

Under the new rules for IR (changed due to COVID-19), players now only have to wait three weeks before they can return from the list. There is also no limit on the amount of players who can return from IR in 2020.

As for Ogunbowale, he was a casualty of the Tampa Bay Bucs adding Leonard Fournette. He’s served more of a pass-catcher type running back since entering the league in 2017 and will enter his Jags tenure with 286 career receiving yards. Ogunbowale also has spent time as a special teams returner, with 360 career yards in the category.

Listen to the latest from Jags Wire’s own James Johnson and Phil Smith on their podcast “Bleav in the Jags.” Subscribe via Apple Podcasts and check out our archived episodes via Bleav Podcasts.

Daily Fantasy: The one Jaguars player you need to start in Week 1 on DraftKings

Jaguars running back Chris Thompson could be a daily fantasy sports sleeper in Week 1.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will host the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1 of the 2020 NFL season on Sunday, Sept. 9 at 1 p.m. ET on CBS. The game will feature several intriguing daily fantasy sports options.

For the Jaguars, Gardner Minshew II has a low cap hit of $5,800 in DraftKings’ daily fantasy salary cap challenge (roster limit: $50,000). Minshew is cheaper than 20 other QBs, making him an interesting option after he had several strong fantasy performances last season.

Minshew is a risky play, though, because the Colts’ secondary forced 15 interceptions last season, the seventh-highest total in the NFL.

Jacksonville running back Chris Thompson might be the team’s best value in DFS this week. Thompson has a very low cap hit ($4,000) on DraftKings and he could be a sleeper against Indianapolis in Week 1.

Thompson is listed as the third-string running back on the Jaguars’ depth chart but he will likely serve as the team’s top receiving back this year. The Colts are considered 7.5-point favorites against Jacksonville and the Jags will have to throw often if Indianapolis builds a lead early in the game.

A pass-heavy attack would mean more action for Thompson, who caught 42 passes for 378 yards last season. Granted, Thompson’s yards per catch average wasn’t great last year, but he has good value in PPR formats for his catches alone.

Thompson has totaled at least 35 receptions in each of the last five seasons, totaling 1,772 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns in his career. He has also rushed for 1,194 yards and five touchdowns.

Thompson probably won’t be the lead back in the Jaguars’ offense but his receiving skills make him an intriguing RB for daily fantasy sports.

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Behind Enemy Lines: Colts vs. Jaguars preview with Jaguars Wire

Jaguars Wire previews the Week 1 matchup.

The Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars are set to begin the season on Sunday with a Week 1 matchup at TIAA Bank Field.

Before these two division-mates take the field on Sunday, we caught up with Jay Johnson, managing editor of Jaguars Wire, to get some information after the long offseason. Be sure to follow Jay (@SportsGrind_Don) and Jaguars Wire (@TheJaguarsWire) on Twitter for all of your Jaguars needs ahead of the Week 1 opener.

In preparation for the opening week matchup, we went behind enemy lines to ask five questions about the Jaguars:

Colts Wire: The Jaguars released RB Leonard Fournette. How much of a shock was that and how will the team go about replacing the former first-round pick?

Jay Johnson: The best way to put it is that the timing shocked most because it was so close to the regular season. However, at Jags Wire we’ve emphasized that Fournette’s time was running up in Jacksonville as it was clear how they felt when they didn’t pick up his fifth-year option. The minor incidents he’s had with the front office also were an indicator, but we simply thought they would part ways in 2021, not before the 2020 season.

As for who will replace him, the Jags appear to be on the way to a committee approach. The names to watch in particular are James Robinson and Devine Ozigbo. Robinson went undrafted out of Illinois State this April, but he’s talented and should’ve been a fifth or sixth-round pick at the least. There have been comparisons to Devin Singletary for him. Ozigbo has a little Lamar Miller in him and could be a tough runner between the tackles. He probably should’ve been drafted, too, (in 2019) but he only had one strong year to go off in defense of the league’s scouts.

CW: Gardner Minshew showed a lot of promise during his rookie season. Is he the franchise guy or is the team still in wait-and-see mode?

JJ: The fanbase is eager to deem him a franchise quarterback, which is understandable. Most of us at Jags Wire are in wait-and-see mode, though. Regardless of which category one falls in, I think a key thing to be optimistic about is his pairing with Jay Gruden, who is good with young quarterbacks. The Bengals were able to get into the playoffs multiple times with him coaching up Andy Dalton (including his rookie season). While The Washington Football Team didn’t retain him, Kirk Cousins is another young guy Gruden worked with who has had some success. That said, Minshew is a good fit for Gruden’s system and the veteran assistant is certainly capable of helping him take that next step.

CW: After trading Calais Campbell this offseason, who needs to step up on the interior defensive line?

JJ: I think it needs to be a collective effort although the easy answer would be to say Josh Allen after his phenomenal rookie season. The problem with that is the fact that teams will be able to key in on him with players like Campbell, Yannick Ngakoue, and Marcell Dareus gone. That said, two names I believe could help Allen tremendously are Taven Bryan and rookie DaVon Hamilton.

In 2019, Bryan played better than most want to give him credit for and was the second-highest graded defender (75.5) on the team, according to Pro Football Focus. He had a good camp before having to be temporarily sidelined for a knee bruise. He could be back Week 1, though, which is huge when considering the game he had against Quenton Nelson in December. Hamilton, the Jags’ third-round pick of April, was unstoppable at camp for the most part. I’ve personally praised him to be the biggest surprise of 2020 when the season is over because he’s more athletic than most at his size (6-foot-4, 322-pounds).

CW: Which player had the biggest surprise showing at training camp?

JJ: I’d probably say rookie receiver Collin Johnson on offense. I’ve always respected his game but had concerns on how well he’d be able to separate on the NFL level. However, he’s utilized his wing-span well to help with that and receivers coach Keenan McCardell (who is a solid assistant) has done a great job with him.

On defense, I’d say safety Josh Jones. The former second-round pick for Green Bay was a waiver claim addition for the Jags in December. He had such an impressive camp that he seemingly beat out former starter Ronnie Harrison, giving the Jags enough confidence to trade him.

CW: What matchup should fans be eager to watch on Sunday?

JJ: I’d probably say the Jags’ starting receiver tandem (D.J. Chark and Chris Conley) against the Colts’ starting corners (Rock Ya-Sin and Xavier Rhodes). The Colts had a hard time containing the Jags passing game in their last meeting, but improvements have been made. One of those improvements was the addition of Rhodes, who in particular could have some notable battles with Chark, who is a top-4 deep threat in the league.

CW: Final score, prediction?

JJ: I’ll go with something along the lines of 35-28, Indy. The Jags have struggled mightily against Philip Rivers in the past. One thing that could help them pull off the upset, though, is the element of surprise and the rust of not having a preseason. Simply put, nobody really knows what the Jags’ identity will be and that may not be good for Indy.

Gardner Minshew on being named a team captain: ‘It means everything’

Gardner Minshew discusses how he felt about the Jags making him a first-year team captain.

In the process of preparing for their season opener against the Indianapolis Colts, the Jacksonville Jaguars named their eight team captains for the 2020 season. Among them was second-year quarterback Gardner Minshew II, who will have a lot of pressure on his shoulders heading into the season.

Of course, it’s a challenge Minshew is up for as his teammates have been nothing but supportive of him. On Wednesday, Minshew called the achievement one of the highest honors a football player can have as it speaks volumes about how the team views him.

“It means everything,” Minshew said. “That’s one of the highest honors you can have is being voted on by your peers to represent them and to be their captain. Of all of the awards you can win, that’s one that really, to me, means a lot. It means the most because that’s really how you are with the guys around you and their opinion of you and I think that’s the best judge of somebody.”

Minshew certainly did his part on the field to earn such honors after having to start in most of the Jags’ 2019 games unexpectedly. After Nick Foles broke his clavicle Week 1 against the Kansas City Chiefs, the sixth-round rookie was unexpectedly inserted into the lineup and aided the team to all of their wins in the process.

As for the 2020 season, Minshew has an uphill battle to climb if the Jags are to register a better season than last year. He’ll be apart of the youngest initial roster in the NFL, which means there will definitely be a learning curve. Regardless, when looking at how infectious his personality is, the Jags’ locker room probably made the right decision to name him a captain, because if it’s anyone who can get the team to overachieve, it’s the Mustachioed wonder from Mississippi.

RB Devine Ozigbo listed among 3 players on Jags’ first injury report

The Jags first injury report of the season only had three players, but one of them was RB Devine Ozigbo.

The Jacksonville Jaguars first injury report of the 2020 season only had three players on it, with one simply having a day off in tight end Tyler Eifert. The other two players to surface on the report were running back Devine Ozigbo (hamstring) and Tyler Davis (knee), both of whom didn’t practice.

Of course, when looking at the Jags’ running back situation Ozigbo’s injury is the one that sticks out. The Jags already have Ryquell Armstead on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, and according to Doug Marrone, he will be out for “a while,” which has concerned many fans.

Ozigbo is one of three running backs on the active roster alongside rookie James Robinson and Chris Thompson. They also have fullback Bruce Miller on the roster and Nathan Cottrell on the practice squad if needed.

As for Davis, his situation is worth watching, too, because the Jags would only have two tight ends left on the active roster in Eifert and James O’Shaughnessy, both of whom have injury concerns. Again, if needed Miller could serve as a tight end and the team has options on the practice squad in Ben Ellefson and Matt Flanagan.

Jaguars open Week 1 as 7.5-point underdogs vs. Colts

The Colts will be the heavy favorites in their Week 1 game against the Jags, who are the leagues youngest team.

It has been a much-maligned start to the season for the Jacksonville Jaguars, to say the least.

After having a well-received draft that was highlighted by the selections of wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. and edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson, the hype train surrounding the team has lost a lot of momentum. The reason for that, of course, is a recent series of controversial moves on the front office’s part.

One of those controversial moves was trading defensive end Yannick Ngakoue to the Minnesota Vikings. The second was releasing former 2017 No. 4 overall pick Leonard Fournette, who ended up with the Jags’ in-state rivals in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A less-glamorous third transaction came in the form of trading starting safety Ronnie Harrison to the Cleveland Browns a few days after.

Those moves did not instill any hope in the Jags fans and it apparently hasn’t done the same to the sportsbooks either. The Cardiac Cats will open as a 7.5-point underdog in their season-opening matchup against their divisional rivals in the Indianapolis Colts, according to BetMGM.

When looking at last season’s series, the Jaguars and the Colts split their season matchups with the Jaguars winning the last meeting by the score of 38-20. The Colts beat them handily over a month before by a score of 33-13. As for their all-time record against Indy, it isn’t pretty as the Jags will enter Week 1 with a 14-24 overall record versus the Colts.

The Jags are also a +310 underdog on the money line meaning that a $100 bet on the Jaguars to win will net a $310 winning plus the original bet amount.

Time will tell if this the first of many underdog bets in the Jags 2020 season.

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Jags finally add CB Sidney Jones to practice squad alongside DT Daniel Ekuale

The Jags’ 2020 practice squad is finally filled.

The Jacksonville Jaguars filled out their practice squad Tuesday by making several transactions. The most notable was one many had been anticipating, which was the signing of former Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Sidney Jones.

The Jags also added former Cleveland Browns defensive tackle, Daniel Ekuale, to their practice squad after an extra spot was available due to quarterback Mike Glennon being promoted to the active roster.

Jones, 24, was one of the more notable names who was cut during the league’s process of forming their final 53-man rosters. As a second-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Eagles had high hopes for but him things didn’t pan out mostly due to injuries. He’s only played in 22 regular season games out of 48, although he was simply inactive for some.

Now, with a change of scenery, Jones will look to blossom in Jacksonville who need experience at cornerback. They currently have four rookie corners on the roster, including first-round pick C.J. Henderson, fourth-round pick Josiah Scott, seventh-round pick Chris Claybrooks, and undrafted free-agent Luq Barcoo. That said, don’t be shocked to see Jones on the active roster sooner rather than later.

Ekuale, 26, was on the Browns’ practice squad for most of his rookie season. However, in 2019 he made their final-53 man roster but had to be placed on injured reserve in early November with a calf injury. He ultimately finished the season with four tackles and one of them was registered as a tackle for loss.

Listen to the latest from Jags Wire’s own James Johnson and Phil Smith on their podcast “Bleav in the Jags.” Subscribe via Apple Podcasts and check out our archived episodes via Bleav Podcasts.