What Patrick Mekari's Injury Really Means for Jaguars Offensive Line

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- For the Jacksonville Jaguars' offensive line, the hits keep on coming.

NFL Network's Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport reported Monday that Jaguars offensive lineman Patrick Mekari recently underwent back surgery, and the Jaguars are expecting him to miss some time. Mekari dealt with back injuries last season and has not been a full participant in a single Jaguars training camp practice to this point.

#Jaguars G Patrick Mekari recently underwent a procedure on his back and will miss some time, sources tell me and @RapSheet. Jacksonville expects Mekari to play this season and has not yet made a decision on IR to begin the year. pic.twitter.com/jEpDVVMiE3
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) August 18, 2026

But what does the Mekari situation really mean for the Jaguars and their banged-up offensive line moving forward? We break down each angle below.

Mekari's Timeline

The fact that the Jaguars have not placed Mekari on injured reserve indicates that they do think there is a chance he plays this season. If the Jaguars were to place Mekari on injured reserve now, like they did with rookie linebacker Parker Hughes, then Mekari would be ruled out for the entire 2026 season. So unless the Jaguars are ready to eliminate the possibility of Mekari playing this year entirely, they can not place him on injured reserve until the 53-man rosters are official.

The Jaguars could do with Mekari what they did with rookie linebacker Jalen McLeod last season. McLeod sustained an injury in training camp and was placed on injured reserve with a deisgnated to return tag, which meanty he could not play in the first four games but could return after that. McLeod never played a snap as a rookie because the injury dragged until the end of the year, and this could remain a possibility with Mekari as well. But McLeod was at least eligible to play for most of the year, which would not be the case if they had IR'd him during training camp.

In short, the Jaguars could designate Mekari to return from injured reserve and then play the waiting game from there. It would at least give them more options than placing him on injured reserve now, and it would save a spot on the 53-man roster. If the Jaguars expect Mekari to be ready within the first weeks of the season, they could just carry him on the roster to start the year and make him inactive on game days, but the framing of the original report and how the Jaguars "expect Mekari to play this season" suggests this is unlikely.

The Ripple Effect

milu — Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Wyatt Milum (64) talks with assistant offensive line coach Trevor Mendelson during the sixth day of NFL training camp at the Miller Electric Center on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The ripple effect of Mekari's injury will be fascinating, because the Jaguars have a few other things up in the air when it comes to their offensive line. Cole Van Lanen is on the Active/PUP list and it remains to be seen if he will be available at the start of the season, which adds another layer to the Jaguars and their Week 1 offensive line.

It seems like a foregone conclusion that Anton Harrison will start the year at left tackle, while Robert Hainsey is the clear center. The other three spots, though, could be arranged in a number of ways. Here are a few different options.

The Jaguars could go with incumbent starter Ezra Cleveland at left guard, which would mean the line would be Harrison/Cleveland/Hainsey/?/?. If Van Lanen is available, he would clearly step into either tackle spot. Would the Jaguars then go with Wyatt Milum or Emmanuel Pregnon at right guard? Or would they go with Walker Little?

If the Jaguars do not think Van Lanen is back in Week 1, they could put Walker Little or Chuma Edoga at right tackle, with Cleveland at LG and either Pregnon or Milum at right guard. Pregnon has taken limited reps at right guard this camp, but he may be one of their five best offensive linemen.

The Jaguars could get weird with Ezra Cleveland, moving him to right tackle and starting Emmanuel Pregnon at left guard. This could leave Milum or Little at right guard.

There are a lot of moving pieces right now, especially since Van Lanen, Little, Mekari, and Edoga are all injured. Things will likely not clear up for a few more weeks, but the Jaguars have a lot of thinking to do before Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns.

Double-Counting

It is important to place the Mekari injury in the proper context with the rest of the offensive line's injuries. Yes, having last year's starting guard miss time due to a back procedure is bad news anyway you slice it. But Mekari has not practiced all camp, and there were zero signs that indicated he was going to start in Week 1 anyway as a result.

Yes, Mekari is among the most versatile linemen on the team and not having him available hurts the depth in a significant way. But there was never a gurantee Mekari was ever going to start in Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns even if he was healthy. A player who has already been hurt all month is expected to miss more time. Does that really change anything for the Jaguars, at least compared to where they were before this report?

Mekari's injury isn't ideal, but he was already out of the line-up. It doesn't make much sense to now double-count the void left on the depth chart, because it was already there to begin with.

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