JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jaguars got two big chunks of positive injury news on Friday.
Coach Doug Marrone said that the debut of rookie tight end Josh Oliver will come in Sunday’s game at Cincinnati, and that injured quarterback Nick Foles could return to practice as early as next week.
For a team that needs positive momentum following the headache of Jalen Ramsey and back-to-back losses to Carolina and New Orleans, that news is positive.
The return of Oliver could be big for the offense.
The third-round pick from San Jose State has yet to play due to a hamstring injury but was a full practice participant Thursday. His debut is much needed. The Jaguars lost James O’Shaughnessy to a knee injury and Geoff Swaim to multiple injuries.
“I thought it’s been good. We worked him in last week a little bit more in the scout team last week,”
Marrone said. “And then this week we worked him in a little bit and he’s been able to complete the week, so it was good that he was able to go full later in the week and he’s going to play and we’ll see how it goes.”
The other bit of injury news from Marrone is the potential return of Foles.
The biggest free agent signing in franchise history, Foles broke his collarbone in the regular season opener and had surgery days later. In his absence, rookie Gardner Minshew II emerged and has played well, going 2-3 as a starter and winning four Rookie of the Week awards.
The Jaguars placed Foles on injured reserve with a designation to return, meaning he could begin practicing with the team in Week 8. Foles would be eligible to return the play the week of Nov. 10, although the Jaguars have a bye that week. His first availability would be the Nov. 17 game at Indianapolis.
“Yeah, we think we’ll be able to get him next Wednesday out at practice,” Marrone said.