Jaguars WR Tim Jones may get a chance to show out vs. Eagles

As recently as Week 2, the Jacksonville Jaguars had a clean bill of health but it was unrealistic to have no players pop up on the Injury Report for the remainder of the season. Heading into their Week 4 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Jags have listed four players in the final injury report before Sunday’s game.

Cornerback Shaquill Griffin missed last week’s dismantling of the Colts. He was a limited participant in practice this week and is listed as questionable. Sophomore offensive lineman Cole Van Lanen, wide receiver Zay Jones and outside linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson also got the questionable tag.

Earlier this week, head coach Doug Pederson said Van Lanen was at risk of missing the game but was optimistic about Griffin’s chances of suiting up. Pederson also met with the local media Friday and say that the team hadn’t made a decision on Jones yet.

“We get some things like this that come up during the week and we just want to make sure that he’s 100 percent”, Pederson said. “So we shut him down yesterday. We’ll get through today’s practice, we’ll have a better indication with him after today we’ll make a decision after that”.

Based on Pederson’s comments, Jones could end up being a game-time decision, so the Jaguars’ brass will have a plan B in case he isn’t ready to go. Christian Kirk has mostly lined up in the slot this season, and it’s unlikely that the coaching staff will move him outside in case Jones isn’t good to go. Instead, they may plug in Tim Jones at Zay Jones’ spot. Here’s Jacksonville’s final injury report.

Keeping Tim Jones on the 53-man roster could pay off for the Jaguars

If Tim Jones does end up filling in for the Jones Sunday, he would be making his first-ever NFL start. An undrafted free agent last year, he spent the 2021 season on the Jaguars’ practice squad. Although he’s been active for every single game this year, he’s only played six offensive snaps. On the other hand, he’s seen plenty of time on special teams, logging 37 snaps.

The truth is that it might be a good idea for the Jaguars to roll with Tim Jones if Zay Jones isn’t 100 percent. After all, he would be running the risk of aggravating his injury. Moreover, Tim Jones showed in the preseason that he can play. In four games, he hauled in 14 receptions for 219 yards and might have locked his roster spot after hauling in three receptions for 103 yards against the Atlanta Falcons in the finale.

It’s important to point out that if the Jaguars’ brass didn’t feel comfortable about Jones, they would have kept Laviska Shenault Jr. and Laquon Treadwell, two of their starting wideouts last season.

There’s still a chance Zay Jones will suit up against the Eagles but if he isn’t good to go, Tim Jones should be able to pick up the slack and prove the Jags made the right call when they kept him on their active roster.