JACKSONVILLE – Dewey's back – and he could start Sunday.

With the Jaguars struggling in the secondary this season, veteran safety Andrew Wingard figures to play a key role in the regular-season home finale – a week after he got his most extensive work of the season.

And make no mistake: Wingard is absolutely ready.

"Just to be out there with the boys … I know the season's lost, but to go out and put our best foot forward, and put stuff on tape – that's what it's about," Wingard said Thursday as the Jaguars (3-12) prepared to play the Tennessee Titans (3-12) at EverBank Stadium Sunday.

Wingard, after playing his most extensive snaps of the season in a loss to the Las Vegas Raiders this past Sunday, could start Sunday against Tennessee.

"We're looking at that right now," Head Coach Doug Pederson said. "There's a possibility."

Wingard, a sixth-year veteran, missed the first nine games of the regular season with a training-camp knee injury. He returned in Week 10, but played just five snaps in five games before replacing Darnell Savage against the Raiders after Savage sustained first-half concussion.

"I'm just pumped to get over the knee injury, to see that it hasn't hampered me and that I can still go out and play at a high level," Wingard said. "That's the biggest thing for me."

The Jaguars on Thursday announced Wingard as a captain for Sunday’s game.

"My only regret is he got hurt in camp and didn't get a chance to really start the season," Pederson said. "He's coming into his own right now. He played well last week. I look forward to these next couple of weeks watching him go."

Wingard registered two pass breakups while playing 63 percent of the defensive snaps against the Raiders.

"He made some plays on the ball and there was really good communication on the field," Nielsen said. "He brings a lot of energy. Those things we need defensively he did last week. We'll get some more of that this week."

Nielsen said Wingard was expected to play a key role in the secondary this season before the training-camp injury.

"He was in the plan," Nielsen said. "He was in the rotation, the plan, from the very beginning. He made some plays. He had a good camp and had an unfortunate injury. We changed some things defensively personnel-wise because of that.

"We're glad to have him back. It's good to see him out there – fiery, physical, running around, high energy. It was good. It was good to have him back, for sure."

NOTABLE

• A Jaguars running game that was an early-season focus ranks 26th in the NFL through 15 games. The Jaguars have rushed for 99.6 yards per game, rushing for more than 100 yards once in the last eight games. "There are probably a lot more moving parts in the run game," Pederson said. "You just have to continue to stick with it. The times we've been able to stick with the run, we've had had a little bit of success." Said offensive coordinator Press Taylor, "The run game can be tough at times. You have certain teams that have personnel issues inside. Sometimes it's the scheme, numbers inside. It comes down to matchups. A lot of times it's 11 guys doing it the exact same way. There are a number of things that come into play."

NOTABLE

• Nielsen on Thursday reiterated Pederson's thoughts earlier this week that rookie defensive tackle Maason Smith had his best NFL game against the Raiders. Smith, the No 48 overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft, has started the last three games after being inactive in six of the first 15 games. He registered his second sack of the season, two tackles for loss and a pass defensed Sunday. "He pass rushed a lot better and was using his hands a lot better, getting off blocks," Nielsen said. "His batted ball was huge. You can see his confidence growing. Sometimes it just takes time, so we'll continue that this week. He's playing faster. That's the biggest thing, then the accumulation of the reps has added up so he's seeing things faster, too."

NOTABLE

• Nielsen on a Jaguars pass rush that is tied for 30st in the NFL this season with 28 sacks: "It's something we need to look at. We really need to look at it and get to the bottom of exactly what has happened. We'd have hoped to have had more production. It's something we really have to do a deep dive into and get to the bottom of." Defensive end Travon Walker leads the Jaguars with 8.5 sacks.