What the Jack Kiser Injury Means for the Jaguars' LB Position

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars have managed to get through the first two days of training camp without many injuries, with the lone exception being second-year linebacker Jack Kiser.

Kiser, a fourth-round selection last year out of Notre Dame, was injured early in team drills during Day 1 of Jaguars training camp on Wednesday. On Thursday, it was noted that Kiser would be week-to-week with a knee injury, which means that he avoided a worst-case scenario. But what does Kiser's injury and now recovery mean for the Jaguars' defense and linebacker room? We take a look below.

What it Means for Jack Kiser

For Kiser, any missed reps feels like a tough break. The second-year linebacker appeared to be one of several names in the mix for a role in a linebacker room that is now without Devin Lloyd and has quite a bit of youth on it, including fellow second-year linebackers Jalen McLeod and Branson Combs and rookie seventh-rounder Parker Hughes. With so many snaps out there to grab following Lloyd's departure, Kiser could have used the next few weeks to make a case for himself.

That is not to say that Kiser was expected to beat out Ventrell Miller for the starting job across from Foyesade Oluokun, but the Jaguars give plenty of chances to gain playing time at this time of the year. With Kiser now week-to-week, he will miss out on what could be his best chance to get reps since they could be hard to come by once Week 1 rolls around.

But it is a good sign that Kiser is at least now expected back at some point or another, and his injury timeline could end up framing exactly what that looks like in terms of how the first version of the 53-man roster shakes out.

What it Means for Jaguars' LB Room

parker hughe — Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile coaches during the second day of minicamp at the Miller Electric Center, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in Jacksonville. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The two linebackers who the Jaguars will need to lean on moving forward without Kiser are Combs and Hughes. Combs is already getting plenty of key reps with Anthony Campanile's defense as he battles Miller for the starting spot, and it already feels like it is a very close battle between the two. With Kiser now out of the mix for at least the next few weeks, Combs is the Jaguars' top backup linebacker if he is not a starter.

“I think, first and foremost, his athleticism. His ability to defend the pass. If you think about, like, how much teams are trying to expose linebackers in coverage. Obviously, we saw what Devin [Lloyd] was able to do for us in coverage a lot last year in terms of zone and vision and be able to create some turnovers with vision on the quarterback. I think Branson innately does that," Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said on Wednesday.

As for Hughes, this does give him a chance to get more reps at the linebacker spot over the course of camp. It looked like it was going to be tough for Hughes to get many of those reps due to having four veterans in front of him entering training camp, but Kiser's injury now means the Jaguars will need Hughes to show up on the practice field even more.

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