The Jaguars are heading into Week 4 with more than a few injury questions, and the most unsettling one sits right in the secondary.
Jacksonville has three players listed as questionable for Sunday’s matchup with the Bengals, and two of them are cornerbacks: Montaric Brown and Christian Braswell. Brown is dealing with a hamstring injury, while Braswell is nursing a knee issue.
Both were limited in practice all week. Rookie defensive tackle Albert Regis is the third questionable player, after an elbow injury kept him out of the Week 3 win over the New England Patriots.
That creates a tricky setup for a Jaguars team already staring down Ja’Marr Chase, Joe Burrow and Tee Higgins. The problem is made even sharper by the fact that Jacksonville carries only five cornerbacks on its active roster.
Right now, the healthy options are Travis Hunter, Jarrian Jones and veteran Jourdan Lewis. The Jaguars also have Jabarr Muhammad, who stood out in offseason work and training camp, on the practice squad. Saturday should bring more clarity, when the team makes any practice squad moves and the status of the cornerback group becomes more concrete.
If Brown and Braswell can’t go, Jacksonville may be forced to piece things together with Jones, Hunter and Lewis against one of the league’s toughest passing attacks.
Jones, in particular, has become a central figure in the room. The third-year cornerback has led the Jaguars’ cornerbacks in snaps through three weeks, and he’s been leaned on heavily already this season. His timing might be ideal, too: he picked off his first pass of the year last week, and his play seems to be moving in the right direction just as the Jaguars need it most.
“The diversity, the multiplicity throughout, to be able to go hop inside, outside, he plays with a lot of confidence. I love his play energy," Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said about Jones on Friday.
"He's tackled at a pretty high level as well when he's been given some of the opportunities to do so. Need him to continue on that ascension and been very confident with Jarrian though recently.”
In Other News...
Travis Hunter Just Got The Kind Of Test Jaguars Fans Feared
Travis Hunters return has already become one of the most closely watched storylines around Jacksonville, and the latest challenge waiting for him is the kind that can sharpen the attention even more. The rookie corner, drafted second overall after winning the Heisman Trophy in 2024, has been working back from a torn LCL while adding muscle, and the Jaguars have had a front-row seat to both the promise and the growing pains that come with his transition to the league.
JaMarr Chase recently offered a brief comment on facing Hunter, a meeting that carries extra weight because Chase has already had a strong day against Jacksonvilles defense before. Hunter has flashed the splash play that made him such a tantalizing prospect, including a notable interception, but he has also run into some coverage issues in a season that has drawn mixed reviews. For the Jaguars, this is the kind of test that can either validate the optimism or remind everyone how steep the learning curve can be. [Read more 🡒]
JaMarr Chases Travis Hunter Response Says Everything Bengals Fans Wanted
Ja'Marr Chase was given a familiar type of question this week, the kind that comes with any matchup against a high-profile defensive back and an even bigger spotlight. This time it was Jacksonville cornerback Travis Hunter, who has added muscle during his recovery from a torn LCL and is still carrying the weight of his lofty reputation as the former Heisman Trophy winner and No. 2 overall pick in 2025.
Chase did not offer much in the way of buildup, and the briefness of his answer said plenty about how he views the matchup. For Jaguars fans, Hunters second season has already become a test case, with some wondering whether he can truly develop into the lockdown cornerback they expected, and any meeting with a receiver of Chases caliber only adds to the scrutiny. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars May Face A Brian Thomas Jr. Decision They Didn't Want
Even with Brian Thomas Jr. just getting established in Jacksonville, his name has already surfaced in trade chatter as the season approaches. ESPNs Dan Graziano has pegged the Kansas City Chiefs as a potential landing spot, with the San Francisco 49ers and Las Vegas Raiders also said to be interested in adding the Jaguars wideout to strengthen their receiver rooms.
For Jacksonville, the conversation is less about whether Thomas can help and more about how the team views its own depth at the position. If the Jaguars decide to listen, they may find a market with multiple suitors, and that kind of competition can quickly turn a difficult roster question into a far more complicated one. [Read more 🡒]