JACKSONVILLE – The Jaguars won't be at full strength when training camp opens.
As for what that means early in the 2015 regular season for the defensive line and secondary, that remains to be seen.
Defensive tackle Sen'Derrick Marks and safety James Sample, each of whom are returning from football-related injuries, have been placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list, the Jaguars announced on Tuesday.
Marks, who led the Jaguars with 8.5 sacks last season, sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the 2015 regular-season finale in Houston. He underwent surgery in January and missed the team's offseason program rehabilitating the injury.
Marks, a seven-year veteran, repeatedly has said he hopes to return for the regular-season opener September 13 against Carolina at EverBank Field.
Sample, a rookie selected by the Jaguars in Round 4 of the 2015 NFL Draft, sustained a broken arm during the team's organized team activities period in early June. He and the team said at the time of the injury they expected him to be out about two and a half months, which would allow him to return in mid-August – about two weeks into training camp.
Sample is expected to compete with veteran unrestricted free agent Sergio Brown for the starting free safety position.
Players on the PUP list can be moved to the active roster at any time. A player finishing the preseason on PUP can be placed on regular-season PUP. That player must miss at least the first six regular-season games, after which there is a five-week window in which he can begin practicing.
Teams then have a three-week window after a player begins practicing to activate the player to the 53-man roster. A player not activated from PUP remains on the list through the end of the regular season.
The Jaguars also on Tuesday placed defensive end Nordly "Cap" Capi on the non-football injury list.
