The Jaguars spent Tuesday reshaping a battered secondary, and the ripple effects could be felt well beyond the next game.
Jacksonville waived cornerback Christian Braswell, put safety Caleb Ransaw on injured reserve and added cornerbacks Jaylon Jones and Alijah Huzzie to the active roster after a run of injuries hit the defensive back group. The moves leave the Jaguars with more healthy bodies than they had against the Bengals in Week 4, but they also make clear how fragile the room has become.
The biggest takeaway involves Travis Hunter. His work at cornerback has already stood out, and the Jaguars’ latest additions only sharpen the picture of where they need him most.
With two corners brought in and Montaric Brown still on the mend, there is now an even stronger sense that Hunter is staying put on defense. The Jaguars simply do not have the depth to justify many offensive snaps for him when he is so valuable as a cover man.
That does not mean the door is shut forever on Hunter dabbling at wide receiver. It just looks like that discussion is on hold unless the cornerback room gets fully healthy. And even then, it is hard to imagine the same conversation if Hunter were merely another defender instead of the team’s best one.
Ransaw’s injury is another hit. He had settled in as the Jaguars’ clear No. 3 safety to open the season after missing all of last year with a foot injury, and he had appeared in four games before a knee injury landed him on IR. He will miss at least the next four games, and Liam Coen is expected to address the injury further.
It is a frustrating setback for a former third-round pick who was finally starting to show value on defense and special teams. Now the Jaguars have to lean more heavily on Jalen Huskey, Rayuan Lane and others to fill the gap.
For a team that has carried a lot of early-season momentum, this is the kind of stretch that tests roster depth in a hurry. Jacksonville had avoided many injury problems in the first few weeks, but that cushion is gone now. The Brown situation also bears watching after he sat out Sunday with a hamstring injury, and the new signings do not exactly suggest a quick fix there.
Liam Coen has gotten a lot right so far, but this is a different kind of challenge. The Jaguars managed secondary injuries last season and still went 13-4 to win the AFC South, so this is not automatically a season-changing problem. Still, with an important two-game trip to London coming up, they are going to need as many healthy contributors as possible to keep things moving.
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For Jaguars supporters, the finding is less about a game-day identity than a broader snapshot of the city and region around the team. The study also came with an especially notable contrast elsewhere around the league, as Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has said he stays away from endorsing political candidates and instead encourages voter registration and independent decision-making. [Read more 🡒]
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Liam Coens Viral Transformation Has Jaguars Fans Loving This Start
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The weight-loss buzz only adds to the broader momentum around a Jaguars team that finished 13-4 and captured the AFC South in Coens debut season. Jacksonville has also backed up the optimism with recent wins over the Bengals and Patriots, leaving the fan base focused on how far this run can go while Coens transformation continues to draw attention of its own. [Read more 🡒]