Jaguars OT Walker Little in at left tackle following win vs. Cowboys

The Jacksonville Jaguars managed to beat the Dallas Cowboys 40-34 in overtime despite the fact that left tackle Cam Robinson exited the game with an injury. Head coach Doug Pederson said after the game that he wasn’t sure how serious the injury was but he told the media Monday that it’s a torn meniscus and added that Robinson is out for the year.

“It’s unfortunate, knee injury, probably lost or the year”, Pederson said. “ACL was good, [it’s a] meniscus and I hate for him because he’s played extremely well this season. But he’s gonna miss some time”.

With Robinson out for the year, sophomore Walker Little will line up at left tackle for the next three games.  Pederson is confident Little is up to the task of filling in for Robinson.

“He’s always prepared, number one. He went in there in some adverse conditions against those two edge rushers and did a nice job, so we got a lot of confidence in Walker and look forward to getting him in here again, get him going”, Pederson said.

Against the Cowboys, Little temporally filled in for right tackle Jawaan Taylor and later switched to the left side when Robinson left the game. The former Stanford Cardinal ended up playing 30 offensive snaps. He allowed four total pressures (four hurries) but didn’t give up a single sack.

A second-round pick in the 2021 draft, Little spent most of his rookie campaign on the sidelines but lined up at left tackle when Robinson wasn’t unavailable and finished the year with three starts. He competed with Taylor for the right tackle job in training camp but ended up losing the battle. Here’s a clip of Pederson discussing Robinson’s injury:

Jaguars OT Walker Little has a chance to rise his stock in 2022

With three games left in the 2022 season, Walker Little has a chance to solidify his spot in the Jaguars’ offensive line next season. Cam Robinson signed a three-year deal worth $54 million in the offseason, so will most likely return to left tackle next year.

On the other hand, Little will have an opportunity to convince the team’s brass he should be the team’s starting right tackle in 2023. Jawaan Taylor has improved considerably this season but he’s slated to become a free agent next offseason. The Jags will have a limited budget to work with and might not have enough cap room to re-sign Taylor.

If Little shows he can hold his own for the remainder of the season, he’ll make it a bit easier for the Jaguars to move on from Taylor next year.

It’s always bad news when a player suffers an injury that forces him to miss time but in Robinson’s case, the Jags have a promising replacement ready to step up in Little.