Jacksonville Jaguars coach Liam Coen said on Tuesday, Oct. 7, that edge rusher Travon Walker’s left wrist still had some swelling a week after surgery, leading to the decision to put him on the inactive list before the team’s 31-28 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football at EverBank Stadium.
Walker, in his fourth season after being the top overall draft pick in 2022, injured his wrist on Sept. 28 in a 26-21 victory over San Francisco and had surgery on Sept. 29. He was able to return to the final practice of the week with a protective “club” over his hand, increasing hopes that he could play.
Instead, Coen said it wasn’t worth the risk for one of the dominant players on defense during the Jaguars’ 4-1 start.
Walker had played in 40 consecutive games before Monday night.
“He had some swelling still in there,” Coen said. “So it just wasn’t the right time. He was only seven days out of the surgery, so it wasn’t something that any of us felt comfortable being able to go put him out there last night … just wasn’t the right thing to do putting [Walker] in that game so soon.”
Emmanuel Ogbah started in Walker’s place and had one tackle and one quarterback hit.
Travon Walker has been a force
Walker had five tackles, seven assists, two sacks and four quarterback hits in three games and the first half of the 49ers game.
Coen didn’t want to speculate on Walker’s availability this week as the Jaguars prepare for another home game on Sunday against Seattle (1 p.m., FOX).
“Not sure what that’ll look like this week,” Coen said. “He was definitely feeling better toward last night. So, hopeful for this week, and we’ll have to see what that swelling does. I think some of that will help us know what his availability will be.”
Liam Coen praises Jaguars rookies
The Jaguars had two other key players come out of the game with injuries, tight end Brenton Strange (hip) and center Robert Hainsey (hamstring). The Jags announced later on Oct. 7 that Strange had been placed on injured reserve but had no additional news on Hainsey’s injury.
Strange caught one pass for 22 yards in the first quarter and, despite missing the entire second half, still leads the team with 20 receptions for 204 yards. Tight ends Johnny Mundt and Hunter Long combined for only two catches for 10 yards in the second half.
Coen praised seventh-round draft pick Jonah Monheim for his play in place of Hainsey and noted that Monheim and LeQuint Allen Jr., who was also picked in the seventh round, were on the field for the Jaguars’ winning touchdown drive.
“You’ve got two seventh-round rookies playing on the final drive of the game on Monday Night Football against the Kansas City Chiefs,” Coen said. “Those guys are helping us win. We’re not winning in spite of them, which is a pretty cool deal. I told the staff, going back to the spring, we’re going to play young players. We’re going to play rookies. We cannot be afraid of that.”
All seven healthy rookies for the Jaguars played against the Chiefs: Monheim, Allen, Travis Hunter, Bhayshul Tuten, Jack Kiser and Rayuan Lane III.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Travon Walker injury update, Jaguars held him out after swelling made it too risky to play
Reporting by Garry Smits, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
