Early in the 20-12 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Devin Lloyd left the game with a calf injury. He eventually returned, but the injury was more serious than originally expected. After undergoing further testing the following day, the Jacksonville Jaguars have already ruled the fourth-year linebacker out for the Week 7 game against the Los Angeles Rams.
The Jags will most definitely miss Lloyd, who's responsible for five of the team's 14 takeaways this season. That said, the show must go on, and a third-year linebacker will need to step up in his absence.
The Jaguars rule out Devin Lloyd and Quintin Morris
Liam Coen said one day after the Seattle game that Lloyd would get more tests done on his calf after feeling tightness. Just a few hours after he made his comments, the team announced that No. 0 would miss the London game. The reason the Jaguars made a decision so early in the week was that they were traveling to London Monday, so he didn't make the trip. Ditto tight end Quintin Monday, who's dealing with a groin injury.
On a related note, the team's brass also released tight end Qadir Ismail from the practice squad and filled his spot with Jordan Akins. Given that Brenton Strange is on injured reserve, and Morris won't be available, there's a strong chance Akins will get promoted to the active roster via standard elevation.
Circling back to Lloyd, the silver lining is that apart from missing the London trip, it doesn't look like the injury is serious. When you take into account that the Jaguars will have their BYE after the London game, he could return for the Las Vegas Raiders game in Week 9.
The Jaguars will need Ventrell Miller to step up during Devin Lloyd's absence
Ventrell Miller played 29 snaps in the loss to the Seahawks. He'll get the starting nod next to Foyesade Oluokun against the Rams. Then again, it's possible that Dennis Gardeck will also see an uptick in playing time during Devin Lloyd's absence. That said, it will be up to Miller to pick up most of the slack.
A third-round pick in the 2023 draft, the former Florida Gator missed his rookie season with an Achilles tear. He was back at full strength last year and got ahead of Lloyd on the depth chart. Miller ended up appearing in 15 games with nine starts in his sophomore campaign, registering 80 tackles and three passes defensed.
The new regime came in, and Miller once again took on a reserve role despite the fact that he looked better than Lloyd in 2024. This proved to be the right call, though, as the latter was having a banner season before suffering the calf injury.
Now, Ventrell Miller will have a chance to show he can also play at a high level. He may not be able to create takeaways at the same rate as Lloyd, but if he can stabilize the linebacker corps and come clutch when needed, he may earn more playing time as the season progresses.