Jaguars Place TE Josh Oliver on Injured Reserve, Ending His Season

Josh Oliver will be on injured reserve after sustaining a broken bone in his foot, leading to a tough break for Jacksonville's offense.

Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Josh Oliver will now be heading to the Reserve/Injured list after he sustained a broken bone in his foot on Sunday, the team announced on Thursday. 

Oliver, the team's first of two selections in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft, sustained his injury during a non-contact drill. 

"Josh Oliver was running [Sunday], non-contact, and he broke a bone in his foot. So he’ll have surgery [Tuesday] and, you know, it’s just an unfortunate thing," head coach Doug Marrone said on Monday.

This comes one year after Oliver appeared in just four games as a rookie, catching three passes for 15 yards before a back injury ended his season. Oliver also dealt with a hamstring injury during the first half of the season. 

Oliver is now out for the season due to the injured reserve rules for the 2020 season.

To be eligible for IR-designated for return, the player must have been placed on the reserve list after 4pm ET on the day after the league-wide roster reduction to 53 players. 

This year, each club will be permitted to return an unlimited number of players from the clubs Reserve/Injured or Reserve/Non-football Injury (or illness) list to the team’s 53-man roster.

Oliver had gotten rave reviews from his coaches and teammates during training camp practices thanks to his performance and improved size, strength and explosion, making his injury an even tougher pill to swallow for the offense.

“You really, really feel bad for the kid. You’re talking about just an outstanding person. First and foremost, [he’s] just an outstanding person," Jaguars tight ends coach Ron Middleton said on Tuesday. 

"[He’s] tried to do things the right way. [He] comes to work, doesn’t say a lot. He not flamboyant or anything like that. [He’s] just a great a spirit. The kid has a great spirit. He has a lot of talent and I feel so bad for him that he hasn’t been able to showcase that talent. The few practices that we had before he got hurt this year, you really saw some things. If you go and look at some of the tape, some of the things he was doing. I was so excited for the kid. I’m just as disappointed."