Myles Jack Not Traveling With Jaguars to London Due to Injury
Outside of cornerback, the Jacksonville Jaguars' defense hadn't faced many injuries in the first month of the season. That is changing in Week 6, however, as the Jaguars will be without starting linebacker Myles Jack, arguably the top talent on the unit.
Jack hasn't practiced this week as the result of an oblique injury he sustained in Week 5. Due to the injury, Jack won't travel with the Jaguars overseas to London for their Week 6 contest against their in-state rivals, the Miami Dolphins.
While Jack has struggled at times with the Jaguars' transition to a 3-4 defense, it is undeniable that the Jaguars a better team with Jack's athleticism and leadership on the field. Now, the Jaguars will be without a captain on the sidelines and in the locker room as the 0-5 team tries to find their first victory following an international flight.
Jack started the first five games for the Jaguars this year, recording 36 tackles, one tackle for loss and one pass deflection. He was voted as a captain prior to Week 1 as well, earning among the highest votes of all players on the team. Jack was also the "green dot" for the defense for the first four games, communicating for the entire unit and relaying defensive coordinator Joe Cullen's calls. This changed in Week 5, however.
"We have been evaluating that because Myles plays three positions - base, nickel, dime, and it's something we've been working on. He played his best football. We just did some research, he plays best when he doesn't have to make the call," Meyer said following the 37-19 loss to the Titans. "So we gave it to Damien [Wilson] and also Rayshawn [Jenkins]. So you were right when you saw that.
With that said, Cullen threw some cold water on the idea that the dot played a large role in Jack's play on Thursday. Jack's best seasons have come without the dot on (2017 and 2020) while his two worst (2018 and 2019) came while he had the dot on. Even so, Cullen made a point on Thursday that it wouldn't have a large domino effect on the defense.
"When you look at that, we’ve done that everywhere I’ve been. We had [former Ravens LB] C.J. Mosely the last place I was at, so we had to give it to a safety, we gave it to Eric Weddle. It went smooth for two games, he said, ‘Why don’t you just keep it.’ Here, Myles [Jack] had it for two years with no issues," Cullen said.
"You’d like to have a guy have it that’s on the field every down and that was the deal there. But I felt like and we felt __like I wanted to take it off of Myles’s plate and we gave it to Damien [Wilson]. We gave it to Damien and then there’s certain times you might signal and then we always have a safety with it with Rayshawn Jenkins].”
“Well I think like anybody, whoever has the green dot, you’re echoing anyhow, just like he did. So, when Myles [Jack] made the call to the defense, Damien was closing the front and doing that, and Myles was doing the same thing last week," Cullen continued.
"You still have to communicate. Like I said, he had it two full years. Last year, they took it away from him because they had [former Jaguars LB] Joe [Schobert].”
With Jack missing his first game of the season, the Jaguars will have to turn to a backup linebacker group that consists of Dakota Allen, Shaquille Quarterman and Chappelle Russell to replace him. Allen has typically been first to replace Jack when injuries have occurred and during the preseason, but Quarterman has received positive reviews from the coaching staff since training camp.
“Like I said, everyone that steps on the field is a starter, and Shaq[uille Quarterman] has done some good things. He filled in great in that second half and was physical. You talk about physical, knocking linemen back, and making tackles in the backfield, he did a great job," Cullen said.
