The Jacksonville Jaguars are in trouble after the Week 8 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Apart from squandering the opportunity to get their season back on track, they lost several starters to injury. While the Jags have yet to find out how much time most of them will miss, they know the diagnosis for one of them, and it's not encouraging at all.
Hours after the game, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported that Christian Kirk will miss the reason of the season with a fractured collarbone. The veteran wideout was attempting to dive to reel in a pass and awkwardly landed on his shoulder.
#Jaguars WR Christian Kirk, who left today’s game early with a shoulder injury, suffered a fractured collarbone, source said. He’s out for the season. pic.twitter.com/6a0Uep63A8
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 28, 2024
Michael DiRocco of ESPN said that Kirk was wearing a sling in the locker room. When asked about the severity of the injury, head coach Doug Pederson told the media that he had no updates about him or any of the other players who sustained injuries in Week 8.
Jaguars WR Christian Kirk had his left arm in a sling in the locker room. HC Doug Pederson said he didn't have updates on any of the injuries (Kirk, WR Brian Thomas Jr., WR Gabe Davis, LG Ezra Cleveland, RG Brandon Scherff, CB Ronald Darby).
— Michael DiRocco (@ESPNdirocco) October 27, 2024
Before the game, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that Kirk was drawing interest from other clubs ahead of the November 5 deadline. Colleague Dan Graziano suggested just a few weeks ago that the Jaguars could potentially entertain offers for the former Texas A&M Aggie. But now that he's out for the season, he won't go anywhere in 2024.
Apart from Kirk, the Jags also lost cornerback Ronald Darby, wide receiver Gabe Davis, wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., and right guard Brandon Scherff. Pederson should have updates for all of them in his media availability session on Monday. It's fair to say that losing one or some of them for an extended period of time would hamper the team's already dire odds of qualifying for the postseason.
Parker Washington is the next man up for the Jaguars
With Christian Kirk out of the equation, the Jacksonville Jaguars will turn to sophomore Parker Washington, who's flashed playmaking potential when called upon in 2024.
A second-round pick in last year's draft, Washington didn't get much playing time early as a rookie but saw an uptick in snaps when Kirk suffered a core injury. Throughout the offseason, he earned praise from the coaching staff, and the former Penn State Nittany Lion wasted no time showing it was warranted.
Back in the offseason, Washington had a 74-punt return and a 25-yard touchdown reception. But despite his progress, he didn't get meaningful playing time until return specialist Devin Duvernay landed on Injured Reserve. It didn't take the Texas native long to make his impact felt, taking a 96-yard return to the house in the Week 7 win over the New England Patriots.
PARKER WASHINGTON. 96-YARD PUNT RETURN TD.
— NFL (@NFL) October 20, 2024
📺: #NEvsJAX on NFL Network
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/edk74815KD
Like Kirk, Washington mostly operates from the slot. With Gabe Davis and Brian Thomas Jr. also dealing with injuries, he'll be under an immense amount of pressure to step up in the upcoming games.
Ideally, the Jaguars would probably want Parker Washington to showcase his talent under different circumstances. However, he's the next man up after Christian Kirk's injury and he'll need to show he's ready to deliver.