Jaguars Injury Update: DJ Chark Playing Vs. Vikings, Sidney Jones is Out
With the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-10) once again facing a host of late-season injuries, the team still got a bit of good news on Friday when the weekly game report was released for Sunday's game against the Minnesota Vikings (5-6).
Jacksonville will have their No. 1 receiver once again at their disposal with DJ Chark not appearing on Sunday's injury report. Chark missed Week 12 with a rib injury and was limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday. But on Friday, Chark was listed as a full participant in practice and is now good to go to face Minnesota's young secondary.
Despite missing now two games, Chark still leads the team in all major receiving categories; 41 receptions (66 targets), 534 yards, 59.3 yards per game and four touchdowns (for which he is tied with Keelan Cole). His numbers have certainly fallen in comparison to his stellar 2019 campaign, but the barrage of quarterbacks the Jaguars have trotted out this season has played a big role, as have his injuries.
With that said, the Jaguars do have a number of players who are either out or questionable for Sunday's road game. Below is each player who has been listed as out entering Sunday.
- DT DaVon Hamilton (knee)
- CB Sidney Jones (Achilles)
- LB Dakota Allen (ankle)
- LB Kamalei Correa (hamstring)
- TE Ben Ellefson (knee)
Hamilton was carted off of the field during the Week 12 loss against the Cleveland Browns, but Marrone said earlier this week that the Jaguars got better news than expected on his injury. The third-round rookie has been one of the team's best defenders this year, so his absence against Dalvin Cook will be significant.
"We got good news with Hamilton last night. It’s not as bad as we thought. We think he’ll still go on IR but it’s definitely not anything that’s quite long term, which was the concern last night, so that’s a good thing," Marrone said Monday.
Kamalei Correa has recorded just seven tackles and a pass deflection in six games as Jacksonville's strong side linebacker. The Jaguars swapped late-round picks with the Tennessee Titans earlier this season to acquire Correa, but his impact has been limited.
Ellefson, meanwhile, has been the team's No. 3 tight end for much of the season and has stepped up when injuries have hit the position. He has earned a lot of praise from the coaching staff this year, but it appears he could miss some time with his knee injury.
Sidney Jones will miss his second consecutive game, which is worrisome for the Jaguars since the Vikings have perhaps the best wide receiver duo in all of football. Jones leads the team in interceptions and pass deflections, but his injury means the Jaguars will have rookies Luq Barcoo and Josiah Scott join Tre Herndon and Greg Mabin a cornerback.
"Obviously you have [Adam] Thielen and then you have [Justin] Jefferson on the other side, so it’s going to be a tough matchup," defensive coordinator Todd Wash said on Thursday.
"We’re going to do some things to hopefully kind of take the deep ball away from them, make them earn everything they have. They know that they have a tough challenge, but at the same time I think both of them are really excited about it. We’re going to find out exactly where they are versus a couple really elite receivers and I like where their mind frame is right now to go in and compete with them.”
The Jaguars also had three players listed as questionable: Chris Conley (hip), Jawaan Taylor (knee), and Jarrod Wilson (shoulder).
Taylor has started every game at right tackle the last two seasons and Marrone said he expects the 2019 second-rounder to play on Sunday, stating he is listed as questionable since he has been limited in practice each day this week.
Conley missed Week 12 with the hip injury and practiced on a limited basis all week. Wilson was also limited in practice this week.
