JACKSONVILLE – Unknown and uncertainty remain.
That has been true regarding Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette's hamstring for a while, and Head Coach Doug Marrone's Monday media availability did nothing to change that.
Fournette, who missed the last two games after sustaining a hamstring injury in a Week 1 victory over the New York Giants, left the second quarter of a victory over the New York Jets Sunday with "hamstring tightness."
He reentered the game briefly, but did not play in the second half.
"Again, you probably go back to when he first hurt it," Marrone said Monday afternoon, a day after the Jaguars' 31-12 victory over the Jets at TIAA Bank Field. "I don't know how long it will be. It will be day by day."
Fournette, who rushed for 30 yards on 11 carries Sunday, missed practice all three days the week after initially sustaining the injury, then practice limited three days the following week. He practiced limited twice last week before being listed as full in the Jaguars' relatively light practice last Friday.
"It's the same thing: there's a thing that's just pulling at it," Marrone said. "It's legit. There is something there. We've just got to do everything we can to just get out whatever that thing is that feels like it catches. That's all I know. I don't know all the doctor's talk. I just give you the layman's talk.
"It's, 'Hey, I've got this little thing. It feels like it catches. It doesn't enable me to open up.'''
Marrone was asked if another two-game absence was a reasonable expectation.
"I don't know," Marrone said. "I really don't know. If I knew exactly what the deal was, and I could tell you 'three-to-six, 10, IR [injured reserve] … whatever,' I would. I just don't know. Those injuries are tough. We've talked about it by position. We've talked about it by player. We've talked about it every other way.
"I thought he was looking good. I really did. You guys are out there. You guys see him working, but it's different when you're playing a game. The game is different."
Marrone emphasized that him mentioning "IR" in the preceding quote did not mean the Jaguars were considering such a move.
T.J. Yeldon started Weeks 2 and 3 in Fournette's place, leading the team through four games with 205 yards and a touchdown on 49 carries. Third-team running back Corey Grant has rushed for 32 yards on 12 carries, and Brandon Wilds – who was inactive on Sunday – rushed for nine yards on four carries in two games after being signed from the practice squad the day before a Week 2 victory over New England.
Marrone was asked if the Jaguars might consider signing another running back.
"We'll talk about it," Marrone said. "We have Brandon with it. He's up on the roster, so it's not like we have to make a roster move or anything."
Also:
*Marrone said starting center Brandon Linder likely will miss practice Wednesday as has been his routine this season, with his practice status Thursday to be determined later in the week. Linder has missed Wednesday practices this season to rest his knee, but left Sunday's game with back tightness and did not return.
*Marrone expressed surprise that his decision to attempt a two-point conversion leading 31-12 with :25 remaining Sunday has drawn attention nationally and in the New York area. While some have speculated the move was made because Marrone interviewed and did not get the Jets' coaching position in January 2015, Marrone said that was not the case. He said the decision was made "way before" to attempt the two-point conversion because a touchdown would put the Jaguars ahead by 19 points, and the Jaguars' "two-point chart" says to go for two when ahead by that margin. "When we scored, it was just natural for me to go for two," Marrone said. "People who know me know how much I respect the game. I have a ton of respect for [Jets Head] Coach [Todd] Bowles, and [Jets General Manager] Mike Maccagnan is one of my good friends. Whatever happened in the past is the past; it had nothing to do with the people or the game itself that's on the field. So, for me that's exactly what happened – right, wrong or indifferent. I would never do anything like that. I just wouldn't because I respect the game too much. It has nothing to do with any of the other crap." Marrone added, "If I had to do it all over and I knew this was going to happen … yeah, I wish someone would have said something. Because the one thing I don't want to do is get my character attacked, which has happened in the past and it happens again."
