Jaguars' Abry Jones, Shaquille Quarterman Designated to Return From IR

Two Jacksonville defenders have been designated to return from IR, giving the Jaguars some boost to their depth.

The Jacksonville Jaguars' defense will be getting a boost in terms of depth soon, with the team announcing Wednesday that defensive tackle Abry Jones and rookie linebacker Shaquille Quarterman have been designated to return from the reserve/injured list. 

The Jaguars have 21 days to activate Jones and Quarterman to the 53-man active roster. Jones originally went on injured reserve on Oct. 22 with an ankle injury, while Quarterman was placed on injured reserve on Nov. 7 with a knee injury.

While this won't offset the numerous injuries the Jaguars suffered on defense this past Sunday, it does give them two players back who were either starters or key backups to start the season. 

The Jaguars placed three starting defenders on injured reserve on Tuesday, with defensive end Josh Allen (knee), safety Daniel Thomas (arm) and cornerback D.J. Hayden (hamstring) all being shelved. Since it is Hayden's second time on IR this season, his 2020 season is over.

Jones started the first five games of the season at nose tackle, collecting eight tackles in the process. He is the longest-tenured player on the team and is one of the most respected voices in the locker room and on the field, so getting his voice and experience back should help the Jaguars' rotation at defensive tackle.

Third-round rookie nose tackle DaVon Hamilton has started the last five games in Jones' place. Hamilton had a rough go at it in his first career start in Week 6 but has since turned into one of the defense's top performers, collecting a sack, two tackles for loss, and nine pressures in the process.

"DaVon is a big, physical guy. Probably what I like the most about him is he’s a gym rat, he’s very intelligent," Jaguars defensive coordinator Todd Wash said last week. "You know, we put some stuff on his plate last week, he was able to execute it and played really well for us. So, I think the sky is the limit for him. And once again, he’s getting better and better as the season goes on."

The Jaguars selected Quarterman in the fourth round with the No. 140 overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft. He hasn't played a defensive snap this season since he is backing up middle linebacker Joe Schobert, but he has played 45% of the special teams snaps and has recorded three tackles.