Tag: Walker Little

5 toughest decisions for the Jaguars to make in the 2024 offseason

The Jaguars can’t sit on their hands like they did last offseason. This year, they have a handful of tough choices to make.

The Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t do a whole lot during the 2023 offseason. All but one of the team’s 22 starters from the season prior returned, as did almost all of Doug Pederson’s coaching staff.

After a disappointing season that saw the team fail to reach the playoffs, things have to be different in 2024. The Jaguars already got started by firing defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell, but there’s plenty more changes to make if the team hopes to get back to the postseason next year and get the franchise’s trajectory back on track.

With the offseason just getting started for the Jaguars, here are five big decisions they’ll have to make before the 2024 season gets started about eight months from now:

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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Ten Jaguars players to watch in Week 15 matchup vs. Ravens

We’re looking at ten Jacksonville Jaguars to watch when they face the Baltimore Ravens in Week 15 on NBC’s Sunday Night Football

The Ravens are 10-3 among the four teams that can clinch postseason berths in Week 15.

Baltimore visits the Jacksonville Jaguars (8-5) on Sunday night in what could be a potential playoff preview.

Jacksonville will look to rebound after suffering their second loss in six days, as quarterback Trevor Lawrence finished 28 of 50 for 257 yards and three interceptions.

With preparation underway for both teams, here are 10 Jaguars to watch for in Week 15.

11 Jaguars players limited, none sit out Thursday practice

The Jaguars had everyone on the practice field Thursday, although 11 were limited.

The Jacksonville Jaguars had full attendance at their Thursday practice with defensive backs Tyson Campbell and Andre Cisco back on the field after sitting out Wednesday.

It wasn’t exactly a healthy day of work for the team ahead of a Week 15 game against the Baltimore Ravens, though. Jacksonville listed 11 players as limited, including Campbell and Cisco.

During a Week 14 loss to the Cleveland Browns, the Jaguars were without Folorunso Fatukasi, Tre Herndon, Walker Little, and Brenton Strange. All four of those players are still limited in practice, but appear well on track to return to the field sooner rather than later.

Quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence and C.J. Beathard again appeared on the injury report, but both were full participants.

Like Wednesday, the Ravens had an exceedingly brief injury report with only one player limited Thursday.

Baltimore safety Kyle Hamilton was wearing a brace on his injured left knee in practice and told reporters Wednesday that his status for Week 15 is still “up in the air.”

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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 rule out 4 players, list 5 as questionable vs. Browns

Trevor Lawrence is one of five Jaguars players listed as questionable for Week 14.

Trevor Lawrence is one of five Jacksonville Jaguars players listed as questionable for a Week 14 game against the Cleveland Browns. The team also officially ruled out offensive lineman Walker Little, tight end Brenton Strange, and cornerbacks Tre Herndon and Christian Braswell.

During a 34-31 Monday night loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Lawrence’s ankle twisted awkwardly when he was stepped on by Little. After struggling back to his feet, Lawrence collapsed on the field and threw his helmet in frustration. On Friday, Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said the quarterback will likely be a game-time decision Sunday.

The other questionable players are cornerback Tyson Campbell, running back Travis Etienne Jr., defensive lineman Folorunso Fatukasi, and running back D’Ernest Johnson.

It’d be a surprise if Etienne, Fatukasi, or Johnson were forced to miss the game in Cleveland, and Lawrence appears to be trending toward playing. Campbell may be the most doubtful of the group.

The Browns had a lengthy injury report too this week, but listed only four players as questionable for Sunday and didn’t rule out any players.

Amari Cooper, one of the four questionable Browns players, leads the team in receiving with 799 yards in 12 games.

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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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Jaguars list 12 players on lengthy Wednesday injury report

The Jaguars suddenly have a lengthy injury report after a rough Monday night.

A Jacksonville Jaguars team that has been fortunate to avoid injuries for nearly two whole seasons is suddenly facing an avalanche of them heading into Week 14.

On Wednesday, the Jaguars listed 12 players on their first injury report before a road game against the Cleveland Browns.

Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence suffered what looked like a gruesome ankle injury Monday night, but said Wednesday that he’s feeling “a lot better” and he’s “trying to progress towards hopefully playing” against the Browns.

Backup quarterback C.J. Beathard is also on the injury report, but said that there’s no concern about his availability Sunday.

While Jacksonville has a lengthy report, the Browns’ was even longer Wednesday with 16 players listed.

Three of the Browns’ players who didn’t practice were “not injury related” rest days and offensive lineman Geron Christian practiced in full, but that still leaves another 12 who were out or limited. That group included receiver Amari Cooper who was out due to a concussion and ribs injury.

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Doug Pederson provides updates on 8 Jaguars injured vs. Bengals

Jaguars coach Doug Pederson had a lot of injury updates to provide after a rough night against the Bengals.

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ injury luck ran out Monday night.

After entering a Week 13 game against the Cincinnati Bengals with only one player out due to injury (tight end Brenton Strange), the Jaguars suddenly have a lengthy list of players dealing with issues.

None is more important than quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who appeared to suffer a serious ankle injury late in the game. While it initially looked to be a devastating issue, Jaguars coach Doug Pederson gave a relatively positive update on the third-year quarterback Tuesday.

Pederson’s update on wide receiver Christian Kirk wasn’t as positive, though.

Here’s everything Pederson said about the players who were banged up, some seriously and some not so bad, on Monday night against the Bengals: