Jaguars Running Back Devine Ozigbo Designated For Return

The Jacksonville Jaguars have moved second year running back Devine Ozigbo off of the team's reserve/injured list and labeled him "designated for return." The team has three weeks to active him to the active roster.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will look to get second year running back Devine Ozigbo back soon, the club announced today. He has been “designated for return” from the team’s reserve/injured list. The Jags now have three weeks—21 days—officially activate Ozigbo to the team’s 53-man roster.

Ozigbo has been on the team’s injured/reserve list since September 10 after suffering a hamstring injury.

As the club explained in a release:

“In 2020, NFL clubs are permitted to return an unlimited number of players from either the club’s Reserve/Injured List or from its Reserve/Non-Football Injury/Illness List to the club’s 53-player Active/Inactive List. Such players must have suffered a football-related injury after reporting to training camp and passing the club's physical and must have been placed on the reserve list following 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, Sept. 5. To be eligible for return, a player cannot begin to practice until three weeks have elapsed since the date he was placed on a reserve list, and the player cannot return to the Active/Inactive List until three games have elapsed since the date he was placed on Reserve/Injured.”

Due to his time dealing with injury, Ozigbo has yet to appear in a game this season. As a rookie free agent signing off of New Orleans practice squad, Ozigbo appeared in 10 games for the Jaguars, rushing nine times for 27 yards while hauling in three receptions for 23 yards.

The Jaguars have three running backs currently on the active roster: rookie James Robinson, veteran Chris Thompson and second-year back Dare Ogunbowale. 

Ozigbo was one of Jacksonville's most impressive running backs during training camp, but his hamstring injury has kept him sidelined for all of this year. It remains to be seen what kind of role he could have since James Robinson has taken the vast majority of carries.

"I think with Devine [Ozigbo], he had a good offseason. We’re just making sure he’s ready to go from a soft-tissue thing. We don’t want to bring him back and all of sudden get an injury because we were really excited about him. He was having a really good camp," head coach Doug Marrone said last week. "Two years ago, he had a great preseason and camp when he was with New Orleans before we had gotten him. So, we’re just making sure he’s fine and doing our due diligence there.”