First injury reports dropped Wednesday, meaning it’s officially game week. As the Jacksonville Jaguars prepare to face the Cleveland Browns, they will be without their veteran wide receiver Jakobi Meyers.
The Jaguars dropped their first injury report for Week 1. Both wide receiver Jakobi Meyers and offensive lineman Cole Van Lanen earned the limited designation, while running back LeQuint Allen Jr. didn’t practice Wednesday.
Meyers jammed his right thumb during a joint training camp practice against the Carolina Panthers back in mid-August. He’s been managing it with a brace and limited work since then, but it’s just standard training-camp wear-and-tear rather than something suffered in a live broadcast matchup.
Jaguars’ Jakobi Meyers Confident About Playing on Sunday
That’s why, despite being listed on the injury report, Meyers is confident that he will play Sunday against the Browns, per John Shipley of Sports Illustrated.
Before the Jags posted their injury report, Mia O’Brien of Action News Jax reported that every Jags player on the 53-man roster participated in practice, including the ones on the injury report.
Allen wasn’t wearing pads, while Meyers is playing through a taped-up thumb with a non-contact jersey.
Even if he misses Week 1, rookie CJ Williams is behind Jakobi Meyers on the depth chart and could fill in for Meyers.
Van Lanen was also working out with the rest of the offensive line for his part, finally setting up the stage for his return following his knee injury in 2025.
The Jags might have dodged a bullet with Meyers, but the real stress test is sorting out early-down depth behind a banged-up rotation.
Cole Van Lanen and LaQuint Allen Game-Time Decisions
Liam Coen clarified that both Van Lanen and Allen will be game-time decisions.
“I would imagine working him (Van Lanen) out before the game and seeing what that’s going to look like. Just using every op we can to get him to potentially be ready to go. We’ll kind of take it all the way up to game time with that one,” Coen said, speaking to local media.
If Cole Van Lanen isn’t ready to go in Week 1, Walker Little will most likely get the start at right tackle. He has been filling in for Van Lanen in practice and so far, impressed Coen with his progress.
“Yeah, you want to get him in,” Coen added. “You want to be able to get him some work, get him some reps, get him feeling confident in a game-like setting. Missing the joints and all the other ops that our other guys obviously had throughout training camp, but I’ve really liked his mindset. I’ve like the way he’s attacked putting himself in precarious positions and owning it. I think he’s been very intentional about that and has been fearless with putting himself in some of the positions that he has throughout the course of practice. So I’ve really appreciated that and we’ll see what it looks like on Sunday.”
And if LeQuint Allen has to sit out the game, veteran Ameer Abdullah will handle pass protection duty and will serve as a target out of the backfield.
Jaguars Get Positive Word on Jakobi Meyers Despite Week 1 Injury Report