No Monday Injury Update for Shenault, Linder
Two starting members of the Jacksonville Jaguars' offense left Sunday's overtime loss with injuries on Sunday, but it doesn't appear there will be much of an update for a few more days on either.
Wide receiver Laviska Shenault left with a thumb injury shortly before the end of the first half. Brandon Linder left the game late in the second half with an ankle injury.
“Actually, they’re still being evaluated, so until that stuff comes back [we don’t know]. We’re expecting it back later this afternoon," Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone explained Monday. "There was some scheduling stuff that we had to work through, but again, I’ll know more later today. Basically, with Laviska it’s just the hand with the thumb issue and obviously it’s the ankle with Brandon."
Jacksonville did have some positive injury news for both immediately following Sunday's game, however, with Marrone noting neither suffered a broken bone.
"I think with Laviska it was a thumb, nothing broken from what I’ve been told on the initial X-ray. That’s tough and we were just seeing if he could catch, so that’s always difficult when you hurt your thumb in that position. With Brandon, it’s an ankle. Again, nothing broken, so I don’t know how long he’ll be yet. That’s all I know about it," Marrone said directly following Sunday's loss.
Shenault, the No. 42 overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft, has had a stellar rookie season when healthy, but he has faced injury issues as of late. Shenault had a terrific first half before his injury, catching three passes for 38 yards and a touchdown and rushing two times for 30 yards.
Shenault has caught 36 passes for 392 yards and two touchdowns this season. His 28-yard touchdown was his first since Week 1, but the versatile second-rounder has also added on 90 rushing yards on 14 carries (6.4 yards per carry). Shenault has missed two games with injury and has now left two games in the first half and not returned.
Jacksonville's replacement for Shenault was fellow rookie receiver Collin Johnson, with the fifth-round pick catching four passes for 66 yards and a two-point conversion. This was the second consecutive strong game from Johnson, with him catching four passes for 96 yards and a touchdown the week before.
“I mean I’m happy to see Collin [Johnson] these past couple weeks make some plays. I think that early on we talked about that he was doing a really good job in practice and really playing well and then really wasn’t playing like he was practicing early on," Marrone said Monday. "I think now it’s starting to carry over now to the field where he is starting to have to the ability to make plays for us. So, I’m happy to see that because he’s a smart kid, he works extremely hard.
"That’s what you want to see from some of these young guys is that stuff starting to come from the practice and move on to the field and he’s one of those guys that has been doing that."