Travis Hunter’s rookie season could be ending just as he was getting off the ground. The team has placed him on injured reserve after a non-contact knee injury suffered in practice on Thursday.
The injury will require him to miss at least four games. There’s no timeline on him at this point, but the team putting him on IR so quickly suggests there’s a good chance that it’s an ACL tear (which would sideline him until next year). The best-case scenario would involve him returning in a month and trying to get things going.
It's a shame, with Hunter in recent weeks showing signs of progress. They’ve been figuring out how to use him. He had superb downfield catches against San Francisco and Kansas City. His last game was his best – 8 catches for 101 yards against the Rams, with a 34-yard touchdown.
With this injury, the Jaguars will need to get more out of their other wide receivers. It increases the pressure on Brian Thomas to come around, playing more like he did as a rookie. He’s struggled thus far.
I don’t think the Jaguars have another wide receiver who’ll now become relevant. Thus far, Parker Washington, Dyami Brown and Tim Patrick haven’t done much.
Washington caught 5 passes for 76 yards at Cincinnati and scored on a punt return at San Francisco, but that’s been about it. He’s caught only 12 of the other 30 passes thrown his way.
Brown caught 5 passes for 57 yards and a touchdown in the shootout at Cincinnati, but that’s been about it. He’s caught 2 passes in four straight games.
Patrick is huge (6-foot-5, 210) but doesn’t have enough speed to separate. He’s been released by the Broncos and Lions the last two years. Adds some value as a blocker, but I can’t see him becoming a viable option.
In a larger fantasy league, some sense in using your last bench spot on Washington or Brown for a week or two, seeing if they develop into a low-level something. But that’s unlikely.
Thus far, just two decent games for those other receivers.
| HUNTING FOR A REPLACEMENT RECEIVER | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Opp | Result | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Snap% | PPR |
| D.Brown | at Cin. | L, 27-31 | 7 | 5 | 57 | 1 | 80.3 | 17.6 |
| Parker W. | at Cin. | L, 27-31 | 5 | 5 | 76 | 0 | 23.9 | 12.6 |
| Parker W. | LAR | L, 7-35 | 10 | 4 | 52 | 0 | 88.3 | 10.2 |
| Parker W. | K.C. | W, 31-28 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 1 | 25.9 | 9.6 |
| T.Patrick | Sea. | L, 12-20 | 1 | 1 | 26 | 1 | 18.4 | 9.6 |
| D.Brown | Car. | W, 26-10 | 4 | 3 | 52 | 0 | 71.2 | 8.8 |
| Parker W. | Hou. | W, 17-10 | 11 | 4 | 34 | 0 | 71.4 | 7.4 |
| D.Brown | LAR | L, 7-35 | 4 | 2 | 50 | 0 | 29.9 | 7.0 |
| Parker W. | at S.F. | W, 26-21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 85.3 | 5.9 |
| Parker W. | Sea. | L, 12-20 | 4 | 2 | 29 | 0 | 32.9 | 4.9 |
| D.Brown | Sea. | L, 12-20 | 5 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 64.5 | 4.0 |
| D.Brown | K.C. | W, 31-28 | 4 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 65.5 | 3.5 |
| T.Patrick | LAR | L, 7-35 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 0 | 19.5 | 3.2 |
| D.Brown | Hou. | W, 17-10 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 32.9 | 2.7 |
| T.Patrick | Hou. | W, 17-10 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 31.4 | 2.6 |
| T.Patrick | at S.F. | W, 26-21 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 29.4 | .9 |
| Parker W. | Car. | W, 26-10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25.8 | .0 |
| T.Patrick | Car. | W, 26-10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.6 | .0 |
| T.Patrick | at Cin. | L, 27-31 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16.9 | .0 |
| T.Patrick | K.C. | W, 31-28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.6 | .0 |
—Ian Allan