The Jacksonville Jaguars are close to getting some key players back, if not for the upcoming two-week London trip against the Chicago Bears (Sunday) and the New England Patriots (Oct. 20), then by midseason.
That could be good news for a battered secondary that has missed projected starters Tyson Campbell, Darnell Savage and Andrew Wingard, and backup safety Daniel Thomas, for a total of 14 games.
Savage returned Sunday in the 37-34 victory over the Indianapolis Colts at EverBank Stadium and had three tackles. Thomas, who missed the opening game and was held out against the Colts, is also one of the Jags’ most valuable special teams players.
The Jaguars allowed Indianapolis quarterback Joe Flacco to complete six passes of 20 yards or longer, including deep shots of 45 and 65 yards to Alec Pierce to lead a fourth-quarterback comeback that tied the game 34-34.
The Jags have allowed the most pass plays of 20 yards on longer (24) in the NFL and have given up the second-most passing yards (1,518) and the third-highest passer rating (111.7).
Campbell played just more than a half of the opening game against Miami before a hamstring injury and Wingard has yet to play after injury his knee on the second day of training camp.
“I think these next couple of weeks are big for us to get some players back,” coach Doug Pederson said on Monday during his news conference at the Miller Electric Center. “Tyson Campbell’s got a chance, maybe in another couple of weeks. Andrew Wingard has been doing a great job [in rehabilitation]. We’ll see where he’s at in a couple of weeks. So we’re getting close to getting all of our guys back.”
Devin Duvernay's status up in the air
Of course, that precludes any additional injuries and one key player who could be added to the early injury reports this week is punt returner/wide receiver Devin Duvernay (lower body), who had a 53-yard return to set up a Tank Bigsby touchdown.
“Devin’s going to be the big one,” Pederson said. “Everybody else came out good, came out okay. We came out pretty good.
If Duvernay can't play against the Bears, Parker Washington will step in for punt returns.
Hopes are that TE Evan Engram will be back
Pederson said tight end Evan Engram, who has missed the last four games with a hamstring injury, could play against the Bears.
“It was really close last week,” Pederson said of Engram’s chances of playing against the Colts. “He got himself back into practice a little bit. I would anticipate see him doing more this week and seeing where he is at the end of the week. I think the chances of getting him back in here are pretty good.”
Running back Travis Etienne “got popped ... pretty good” on his shoulder against the Colts had had only six carries for 17 yards. He did catch six passes for 43 yards and Pederson said his carries from scrimmage were limited to not put him more at risk.
Jaguars sign linebacker Anthony Pittman
Linebackers Foye Oluokun (foot) and Devin Lloyd (knee) remain out and the Jags bolstered their linebacker depth by signing former Detroit Lion and six-year pro Anthony Pittman to the practice squad on Monday and releasing safety Andre Chachere.
Pittman (6 feet 3, 242 pounds), who was the 2017 defensive MVP for Wayne State in Detroit, was an undrafted free agent signed by Lion in 2019. He played 52 games over five seasons, with 12 tackles and one forced fumble.
Pittman played in 34 consecutive regular-season games for the Lions in 2022 and 2023, and all three playoff games last season, mostly on special teams.
Pittman is a native of Beverly Hills, Mich., a Detroit suburb, and played at Birmingham Groves High School, which means he played high school, college and professional football in his hometown.
Pittman signed a free-agent contract with the Washington Commanders and was released on Aug. 27. He played in all three preseason games, with four tackles, three assists and one tackle for loss.
Pittman had 181 tackles, 31.5 for losses and eight sacks in five seasons at Wayne State. He was on the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference first team in 2018 and made the conference's all-academic team twice.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jaguars injury report: Team has a chance of getting key players back for London
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