The Jacksonville Jaguars are making a couple tweaks to their 53-man roster ahead of their London game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 5.
The Jags announced one day ahead of the London bout that they're waiving sophomore linebacker Jack Kiser to make room for Jalen McLeod on the 53-man roster.
On top of that, the team is elevating cornerback Jabbar Muhammad and safety Kaevon Merriweather from the practice squad to the active roster via standard elevation for Week 5. These moves give us a hint about who'll be inactive against Philadelphia.
Why the Jaguars signed Jalen McLeod to the active roster
A sixth-round pick in 2025, Jalen McLeod missed his rookie campaign with a lower-body injury. He returned in this year's training camp but was waived before the regular season started. However, Jacksonville liked the former Auburn Tiger enough that it signed him to the practice squad.
In fact, McLeod was promoted from the practice squad for three games this season, the max a team is allowed. Given that the Jags could no longer elevate him, signing him to the active roster was the obvious move. Thus far, the Washington, D.C. native has logged just six snaps on defense but has played 35 snaps on special teams (51 percent of the team's totals).
On the other hand, Kiser didn't play a single snap on defense or special teams this season. In fact, he's been inactive three games, so the decision to waive him isn't particularly surprising. Like McLeod, the former Notre Dame Fighting Irish was released on cutdown day but was eventually signed to the roster, even if his stay was short-lived.
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Promoting Kaevon Merriweather may be a sign the Jaguars will be without Eric Murray
The Jaguars have already ruled out the recently signed cornerback Jaylon Jones for Week 5, but Eric Murray is also questionable as he remains in concussion protocol.
Although Murray practiced, albeit in a limited fashion, ahead of the London game, the fact that Jacksonville promoted Kevon Merriweather may be a sign that he won't clear protocols.
That said, Merriweather probably won't get much playing time and will instead serve as insurance behind Antonio Johnson, Rayuan Lane III, and Jalen Huskey. It's worth pointing out that Caleb Ransaw landed on the Injured Reserve list after Week 4.
On the other hand, Jabbar Muhammad offers depth at cornerback. Montaric Brown was inactive against the Cincinnati Bengals but appears good to go for Week 5. Still, having Muhammad around makes sense, since Jarrian Jones and Jourdan Lewis were also on the injury report.
Like Merriweather, though, Muhammad probably won't get much playing time against the Eagles and will instead be a depth piece.
The truth is that the Jaguars are dealing with a few injuries, but most of their building blocks will be available against Philadelphia. This is one big reason they're a 7.5-point favorite for the game. Then again, it's never a bad idea to have depth in case the injury bug strikes.
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