Jacksonville Jaguars Injury Updates: Rashad Greene to short-term IR, Denard Robinson out with sprained MCL

The Jacksonville Jaguars have already had to deal with a slew of injuries to multiple key players and they aren’t getting a break two weeks into the regular season.

5th round pick Rashad Greene has had an elevated role in the offense, but now he’s out for a considerable amount of time thanks to a thumb injury that requires surgery. The Jaguars elected to put him on short-term IR with eligibility to return:

#jaguars place WR Rashad Greene (thumb) on short term IR.
— Ryan O'Halloran (@ryanohalloran) September 22, 2015

Greene had surgery this morning on right thumb & will be eligible to return to practice on Nov. 3. So counting on A-Rob, Lee and Hurns
— Mark Long (@APMarkLong) September 22, 2015

As a result, the Jaguars re-signed wide receiver Bryan Walters to come on and serve as the fourth receiver:

So Greene to short-term IR fallout
1. Slot receiver is out
2. Punt returner is out
3. Walters likely fills both roles
— Ryan O'Halloran (@ryanohalloran) September 22, 2015

Ryan O’Halloran suggests Walters will fill the punt returner role, but I’d much rather see what a young guy with tons of athleticism like Nick Marshall can do back there. He did a good job fielding the last punt in Sunday’s game versus the Miami Dolphins, so why not see what he’s capable of in a bigger role.

The Jaguars are also going to have to lean even harder now on rookie running back T.J. Yeldon after learning that Denard Robinson is dealing with a sprained MCL:

Denard Robinson had a big brace on his left knee and needed crutches. Said sprained MCL but wouldn't estimate how long he'd be out.
— Ryan O'Halloran (@ryanohalloran) September 21, 2015

This is a much bigger blow than Greene’s injury in my opinion, as Robinson has shown to be a very competent back and he looked like the perfect complement to Yeldon in the backfield. He also flashed as a receiver out of the backfield and is the best option to shoulder the load if Yeldon were to get banged up.

Adding these injuries on top of the guys already out (Julius Thomas, Sen’Derrick Marks, Dante Fowler Jr.) shows how impressive it is that the Jaguars have played two good teams very strong in the first two weeks. Hopefully most of these guys can get back sooner rather than late.

Next: Week 2 superlatives

More from Black and Teal