Jaguars vs. Texans: Foley Fatukasi Rests Injury During Wednesday's Practice
The Jacksonville Jaguars had one player miss Wednesday's practice, a sign of a relatively healthy team ahead of Week 5's tilt vs. the Texans.
Defensive lineman Foley Fatukasi (quadriceps) did not practice, which Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson alluded to before practice began on Wednesday. Meanwhile, three players who missed Week 4 with injuries -- wide receiver Zay Jones (ankle), outside linebacker K'Lavon Chaisson (ankle) and offensive lineman Cole Van Lanen (hamstring) were limited.
"It’s a quad, and it’s day-to-day. He won’t do a lot today, just rest him today and see where he’s at tomorrow and Friday," Pederson said about Fatukasi, who left Week 4 after 16 snaps with the injury.
With Fatukasi not in the game on Sunday, the Jaguars were thin in terms of interior defensive linemen, having DaVon Hamilton, Roy Robertson-Harris and Adam Gotsis play season-high snaps.
If Fatukasi's injury lingers throughout the week, then the Jaguars will likely have to explore options of adding a defensive lineman to the active roster. Considering the Texans have a strong rushing attack led by rookie running back Dameon Pierce, the running defense could be as pivotal this week as it would have been against the Eagles.
“Yeah, there’s some things that we can get to without really identifying them right now," Pederson said. "There are ways of maneuvering and manipulating our roster in the week of preparation. As we get closer to game time, we’ll have everything ironed out.”
Some of the options on the Jaguars' practice squad who could be called up to the active roster during the week: Corey Peters, Israel Antwine and Nick Thurman. Peters has the most experience among the group at 34. The 12th-year veteran has appeared in 152 regular-season games in his career and could give the Jaguars a boost in terms of depth if Fatukasi is not available.
