Wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. has been a bright spot in what's mostly been a disappointing season for the Jacksonville Jaguars. The former LSU Tiger has already built a strong rapport with Trevor Lawrence and given the offense an element of verticality it had sorely needed for years. Unfortunately, he may not be available when the Jags face the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 9.
Thomas is listed as questionable in the final injury report for Week 9. Head coach Doug Pederson met with the local media and said that the rookie wideout will be a game-time decision, pointing out that the team will take a cautionary approach with him.
"BT has done well, still gotta be cautious a little bit with that," Pederson said Wednesday. "So we're gonna make sure that... he's not going to be 100% obviously, and nobody is at this time, but, but still want to make sure, we don't want to set back, obviously, with him, any of the guys."
A first-round pick in this year's draft, Thomas leads the team with 33 catches for 573 yards with five touchdowns. He suffered a rib injury in the Week 8 loss to the Green Bay Packers and had to exit the game. Originally expected to miss two to four games, the Louisiana native has a shot to play against the Eagles.
Apart from Thomas, running back Travis Etienne got the questionable designation for the Eagles game, with Pederson telling the press corps that he's going to be a game-time decision.
"ETN has been doing some good things, getting stronger. Another one that's going to be probably right up to the game time."
But at least Thomas and Etienne have a chance to suit up. Pederson virtually ruled out left guard Ezra Cleveland and right Brandon Scherff. The former has an ankle injury while the latter is dealing with a knee injury. Both of them left the Week 8 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
"Ezra, probably not going to make it to this game. That high ankle, those are, again, those things, they're tough. Brandon's gonna go today practice, and we'll see where he's at, still kind of almost a game-time decision with him, but he's a tough kid."
Sophomore Cooper Hodges will fill in for Scherff at left guard and Blake Hance will get the nod if Scherff isn't good to go, which is the most likely scenario.
Andrew Wingard also popped on the injury report. He's questionable, and it's uncertain if he'll make his 2024 debut against Philly. Pederson says he'll be game-time, the same as wide receiver Gabe Davis, who's recovering from a shoulder injury.
Keilan Robinson, who's back from injured reserve, and fellow running back Tank Bigsby are also listed as questionable but signs point towards both of them being available. The same cannot be said about rookie defensive tackle Maason Smith, who's already been ruled out for the game. Here's the full injury report:
#JAXvsPHI Status Report pic.twitter.com/mniJ2vRT1L
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) November 1, 2024
And here's Pederson's exchange with the local media.
The Jaguars won't have to account for Darious Slay and Dallas Goedert
The Jaguars are a 7.5-point underdog for the game, but as dire as things look, they might get a slight break. Cornerback Darious Slay and tight end Dallas Goedert have been dealing with injuries and have been ruled out for the game. Without two of their most prominent players, the Philadelphia Eagles might be vulnerable.
And that's the thing, the Jags could also be without several key contributors on the offensive side but have enough weapons to keep Philadelphia on its toes. Brenton Strange has come through when called upon and could see plenty of targets alongside Evan Engram in Week 9. Similarly, Parker Washington will fill in for Christian Kirk, who's out for the year with a collarbone injury.
A fifth-round pick in last year's draft, Washington has done enough to make you time that he'll make plays for the Jaguars in Week 9.
The bottom line is that the Jaguars are hurting but have chance against Philly, as slight as it may be.
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