Jaguars Set to Overcome Week 9 Challenges Despite Injuries

Oct 30, 2024 at 09:16 PM

John Oehser

Jaguars Senior Writer

JACKSONVILLE – It's a tough task, and it's unlikely to get easier.

Evan Engram said that's the Jaguars' reality offensively with one of their best – and most-reliable –players again out for the season. Missing Christian Kirk means that much.

That doesn't make it impossible. Just difficult.

"Everybody has to step up," Engram said.

Engram, a starting tight end and veteran leader, spoke to the media Wednesday afternoon as the Jaguars (2-6) prepared to play the Philadelphia Eagles (5-2) at Lincon Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa., Sunday. The game will be the first since Kirk, a veteran wide receiver, sustained a season-ending broken collarbone in a loss to the Green Bay Packers at EverBank Stadium Sunday.

Kirk was among several significant players injured against Green Bay, with the Jaguars entering the week with multiple players uncertain for Sunday's game in Philadelphia.

"It's next man up," Head Coach Doug Pederson said. "Honestly, it's as easy as that. The games are still going to come and the league is still going to continue on. We're going to continue on and we have to coach. That's why we develop guys in the offseason, for opportunities like this.

"Whether it's a young player or rookie or a vet or a practice-squad elevation, we're going to continue to coach everybody and get it prepared for each week."

The most significant and long-term of the injuries: Kirk, who is expected to be placed on season-ending injured reserve this week. Kirk also missed the last five games of the 2023 season with a core muscle injury.

Kirk, who signed with the Jaguars as an unrestricted free agent in the 2022 offseason, led the team with 84 receptions for 1,108 yards and eight touchdowns that season. He caught 57 passes for 787 yards and five touchdowns in 12 games last season and 27 passes for 379 yards and one touchdown this season.

"It was really an unfillable hole last year, and it's going to be an unfillable hole," Engram said. "That's how good he is. We are all going to have to step up. We're all going to have to do our job. We all have to pick everybody else up around. When you lose a player like that, everybody has to heighten their game, their focus, their detail, their leadership.

"It's an offensive-wide thing losing a player like Christian."

Second-year wide receiver Parker Washington, a sixth-round selection in the 2023 NFL Draft, is expected to fill Kirk's role in the offense. Engram said the Jaguars have "all the confidence in the world in him (Washington), for sure."

"He has shown what he's capable of," Engram said. "He shows us everyday. He's definitely ready.","

Washington showed dramatic improvement during training camp and preseason after catching 16 passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns playing largely after Kirk's injury as a rookie. He has six receptions for 67 yards this season, including three receptions for 47 yards against the Packers.

"He has been great," quarterback Trevor Lawrence said of Washington. "Last year when he played a lot, he knew the system. But I think understanding why you do things a certain way, running routes a certain way versus different coverages or zones or sitting in certain spots – all of that, he's developed a lot more over the past year.

"He had all this time in the offseason to train and he looks great, he's explosive. He can move around and just do a lot of things that help us."