The Jaguars’ bye week brought the kind of news they didn’t want to hear, and it hit one of the biggest spots on the roster. Left tackle Anton Harrison is out for the season after surgery revealed a torn ACL, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
“Jaguars starting LT Anton Harrison was revealed to have suffered a torn ACL during his surgery yesterday, sources say,” Rapoport said on Friday. “The hope was just an arthroscopic procedure, but instead there was more damage. Harrison, who is already on Injured Reserve, is now out for the season.”
That outcome shifts the conversation from a possible late-season return to a full shutdown, and it lands hard for Jacksonville after the injury was first diagnosed. The initial hope was that Harrison might still have a chance to get back if the damage had been limited, but that door is now closed.
It also means the Jaguars are dealing with a familiar kind of bad luck. For the second straight year, one of their offensive tackles has suffered a serious knee injury.
Cole Van Lanen went down in January in Week 17 of the 2025 season with a similar injury, then worked his way back in time for the Sept. 13 season opener against the Cleveland Browns. He has had to ease himself back into form, but his recovery offers at least a loose blueprint for Harrison’s timeline heading into next season.
For this year, though, the focus turns to survival. The clearest answer is Walker Little, who started at left tackle last week against the Houston Texans and held up well against Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter. Little has 40 NFL starts on his résumé, most of them at left tackle, and he now looks like the likeliest option to protect the blind side as Jacksonville tries to win the AFC South and make a run.
“I probably can't overstate how important it is because we really are fortunate to not have to play a backup in a situation when a tackle goes down. I don't look at Walker as a backup tackle or a backup guard," Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski said last week.
"We have seven, eight starter-caliber offensive linemen, and I know that's an incredibly rare luxury to have that type of depth at the offensive line. So, it totally changes the way you gameplan, it changes the way you attack the run game, it changes the way you attack pass protection, so to have that luxury, like I said, is really unimaginable in many other places in the NFL."
Jacksonville does have options because of that depth, but the reality is unchanged: the bye week has once again delivered a loss the Jaguars didn’t expect.
In Other News...
Jaguars Bye Week Respect Suddenly Feels Like A Real AFC Debate
A close loss to the Texans sent the Jaguars into their bye week at 4-2, but it did not do much to dent the broader view of where Jacksonville stands in the AFC. Liam Coen sounded encouraged by what he has seen so far, even with the frustration of finishing short in Houston, and the sense around the league is that the Jaguars have enough quality to stay in the conversation as the season settles in.
Power rankings have reflected that respect, with Jacksonville mostly showing up in the top 10 even as different outlets have nudged the club up or down depending on the week. The bigger question now is whether the Jaguars can use the break to clean up the issues Coen pointed to and prove that this early push is more than just a strong first half of the schedule. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Face A Brian Thomas Jr Decision That Could Change Everything
Brian Thomas Jr.s role has become one of the more intriguing questions hanging over Jacksonville after the bye week. The Jaguars have already shown they are willing to sit him down in a recent game, and with enough depth at wide receiver to potentially absorb a move, the conversation has shifted from simple adjustment to something much bigger.
Thomas current usage also complicates the picture, because every game he spends in a reduced role affects how the rest of the league values him. If Jacksonville is serious about exploring trade options, the next stretch could determine whether this is just a temporary reset or the start of a far more significant decision about one of the teams most talented pass catchers. [Read more 🡒]