As electrifying as running back Bhayshul Tuten was in the 42-7 win over the Indianapolis Colts, his performance becomes even more impressive when you take into account that he sustained an ankle injury early in the contest but managed to play through it. On the other hand, there's a strong chance that the Jacksonville Jaguars could be without him when they play the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday Night Football precisely because he's hurt.
Tuten was a non-participant in Monday's walkthrough and didn't attend practice Tuesday or Wednesday. However, Jacksonville hasn't ruled him out. In fact, head coach Liam Coen says that the sophomore out of Virginia Tech will be a game-time decision.
Bhayshul Tuten will be a game-time decision for the Jaguars vs. the Ravens on TNF
Liam Coen met with the local media Wednesday and stated that Bhayshul Tuten is making progress despite not practicing, but the team won't know whether he'll suit up until game time.
"We'll see. I think he'll do something. Yeah, he'll do something," Coen told reporters (0:55 mark). "But I would expect; I talked to him today. He said he feels better. I would think it's probably going to go up to game time."
Keep in mind that Rodriguez also popped up on the injury report, but he should be good to go in Week 9. And while Jacksonville would surely love to have Tuten against Baltimore, the truth is that the coaching staff may be better off easing his workload or outright holding him out.
After all, the Jags are an 8.5-road favorite that will face a Baltimore team that's down to third-stringer Joe Fagnano because both Lamar Jackson and backup quarterback Tyler Huntley are out for the year.
Granted, just because the Ravens are down to their third-string quarterback doesn't mean the Jags should take their guard down, but they can most definitely beat them without Tuten.
But whether Tuten ultimately plays or not, Jacksonville needs to lean heavily on Chris Rodriguez, who's thrived in a limited role this season.
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Why the Jaguars need to unleash Chris Rodriguez vs. the Ravens
Chris Rodriguez has had success toting the rock this season despite the fact that he's gotten lots of work on short-yardage situations, racking up 492 yards (an average of 4.6 yards per carry) with three touchdowns on 100 carries. He had a season-high 11 carries for 55 yards in the loss to the Houston Texans before the bye. One stat shows why the former Kentucky Wildcat would succeed in a bigger role.
As John Shipley of Sports Illustrated noted on Twitter, Rodriguez ranks No. 3 in EPA per attempt and No. 5 among all NFL running backs. When you factor in that Ameer Abdullah and LeQuint Allen Jr. are also in the mix, Jacksonville can afford to rest Bhayshul Tuten on Thursday Night.
The bottom line is that it would be great to see Bhayshul Tuten go off against the Ravens, but the best course of action may be to rest him to ensure he's back at full strength after the team's long weekend.
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