The Jacksonville Jaguars today placed fullback Patrick Washington on injured reserve and replaced him on the 53-man roster by activating defensive lineman Chris Combs from the practice squad. In addition, the team re-signed RB David Allen to the practice squad. Washington suffered a torn MCL in his left knee in last Sunday's victory at Cincinnati. He will miss the final two games of the season. The team's starting fullback the last two years, he was a key to Fred Taylor's 1,224-yard season so far. Washington had no carries, one catch for five yards and three tackles on special teams.

Combs, 26, is a 6-5, 289-pounder out of Duke who spent the last two seasons on the Pittsburgh Steelers' 53-man roster. He played in eight games and made six tackles and was inactive for the other 24 games. A sixth-round draft choice in 2001, he was a four-year letterman at Duke, where he is the school's second-leading all-time sacker and a 1999 All-ACC selection. A native of Roanoke, Va., Combs was signed to the Jaguars' practice squad on September 17 after being waived by the Steelers in the final cuts.

Allen was on the practice squad for the second week of November. He is a first-year player out of Kansas State who spent the last two training camps with the San Francisco 49ers and Minnesota Vikings. In 1998, he became the only player in NCAA history to return punts for touchdowns in three consecutive games and to return punts for scores in back-to-back games on two occasions. Allen is second in NCAA history for career punt return yards. The 24-year-old Allen is 5-9, 195-pounds.