One of the more gut wrenching injuries for the Jacksonville | Forum

 Lee has dealt with nagging injuries the past few..."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Jaguars Free Agency 2016Jaguars Film RoomNFL DraftJaguars Injury NewsLatest NewsMarqise Lee may not be ready until late in training campNew Corey Grant Jerseys Stitched ,20commentsEDTShareTweetShareShareMarqise Lee may not be ready until late in training campDouglas DeFelice-USA TODAY SportsOne of the more gut wrenching injuries for the Jacksonville Jaguars in the injury riddled 2018 season was at the hands of wide receiver Marqise Lee. Lee has dealt with nagging injuries the past few seasons since coming out of college and was set to be in a role for the primary receiver after the Jaguars let Allen Robinson walk in free agency and release Allen Hurns.Lee had just signed a new four-year, $38 million deal in the offseason only to have his knee exploded in the third preseason game of the 2018 season against the Atlanta Falcons. At the time, it felt like a blow the Jaguars could absorb because they had relied so much on the legs of Leonard Fournette and the then-thought-to-be emerging Keelan Cole and Dede Westbrook, plus the team had signed Donte Moncreif in free agency... but...That didn’t work.We have not heard much about Lee’s recovery this offseason, which generally I think is more of a good thing than a bad thing, because if there’s no injury news typically it means things are “on schedule”. I didn’t think the Jaguars would really look to bolster the wide receiver position unless there were concerns about Lee’s recovery and the only move the team made was signing Chris Conley, which to me is a “just in case” type of signing.At the NFL owner’s meetings Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone mentioned that Lee probably wouldn’t be ready until near the end of training camp/the preseason, which in all honesty isn’t shocking and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Lee begin training camp on the PUP list.“Here’s what I like about Marqise Lee: Every time I talk to him, he’s feeling better, he has a smile on his face, and he’s dying to get back,” Marrone said at the owner’s meetings a week ago. “I think when you see players that are injured and have that type of mentality or expression, that makes you feel good as a coach. He’s excited. He’s getting ready to go. Obviously Youth Lerentee McCray Jerseys , we lost a lot last year when we lost him.”Endearingly nicknamed the “White Tiger”, Lee has always kept a positive outlook with his injuries and coming back from them. Most of the time they’ve been nagging hamstring or soft tissue injuries, but as it sounds right now he’s on track to possibly return by the season opener.I don’t expect the Jaguars to use an early round pick on a wide receiver unless someone absolutely falls in their lap, but if they do snap one up early it probably means they have some concerns on the Lee return timeline.(Editor note: Whoops. Had a busy week this week. Back in full gear now.) Incredibly, the Jacksonville Jaguars (4-9) open as a touchdown favorite as they return to the ‘Bank to take on Washington (6-7) at 1:00pm EST for the final home game of the 2018 NFL season.B..."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Jaguars Free Agency 2016Jaguars Film RoomNFL DraftJaguars Injury NewsLatest NewsJacksonville Jaguars vs. Washington primer: Key matchups, storylines, predictions, and more for Week 15 New,2commentsthe receivers, it’s really Josh Doctson and Jamison Crowder, which is far from the most fearsome duo Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye have seen in their careers.Defensively, Washington has underwhelmed as of late and really since they acquired safety HaHa Clinton-Dix from the Packers for a fourth round pick before the trade deadline Ryan Kerrigan is an exceptional edge rusher from mainly the left side, but Preston Smith hasn’t had that sack numbers in a contract year that most were expecting him to have. There’s also been some drama between the team’s two starting inside linebackers Youth Andrew Norwell Jerseys , as Mason Foster has expressed frustration with having to pull double duty to compensate for Zach Brown’s horrendous ability in coverage this season. Outside of the safeties and cornerback Josh Norman, they are pedaling out young corners in second-year man Fabian Moreau on the outside and rookie Greg Stroman in the slot. Moreau started out the season as the nickel, but has recently moved back outside with the injury to opening day starter Quinton Dunbar. The real strength of Washington is their defensive line, where they roll (tide) deep. First round defensive tackle Da’Ron Payne has played exceptionally this season and fellow ‘Bama boy Jonathan Allen has also flashed his first round ability next to him, especially in nickel. The unsung hero, however, is former Temple Owl Matt Ioannidis, who has really impressed as a rotational lineman, and rookie Tim Settle is another player who has impressed at nose tackle.For more information about the opponent, check out Ryan O’Bleness’ all-time series history against Washington.StorylinesLast week, I asked if the Jaguars should be in full tank mode. At this point, they need to be. The injury to Alex Smith now throws another potential team in the rookie quarterback market, and frankly Washington have shown they are not afraid to do whatever it takes to trade up and acquire the franchise quarterback of their choice. Could that guy be local area kid Dwayne Haskins Jr. Andrew Norwell Jerseys Stitched , who grew up in a suburb right outside of D.C.? I don’t know and I don’t want to get into a whole draft thing in this article, but it’s totally something their Team President would do and narrowing the gap in draft position between the Jaguars and Washington could have rippling effects when it comes to draft night.One guy who won’t want to hear anything about tanking is head coach Doug Marrone, who might be in hot water if the Jaguars drop this home game against a skeleton-crew Washington team. While it’s likely Marrone returns at this time in my opinion, the way these last three games go could flip the script and force a house cleaning. I’ll have a piece come out this week about the coaching staff and what directions they could go in this vein for 2019, but I wanted to wait until after this game because I feel like it’s going to be a huge factor in how they choose to proceed. We should have a lot more answers come Monday morning.On the field, let’s see what some of the young guys can do. I know this has been a consistent theme lately, but it would be good to see even more of this if the game gets out of hand. Though unlikely, if the Jaguars are up by two scores in the fourth quarter, it would be great to see Quenton Meeks get some snaps and rest Bouye or Ramsey, Smoot in there on every snap to rest Calais, or even Nick DeLuca representing his people on a snap here or there as the team will be seeking solutions for linebacker depth in 2019.One last storyline will be Blake Bortles. If the game gets out of hand, either positively or negatively, will we see a cameo performance by Bortles in what is inevitably his final home game as a member of the Jaguars? There are some who could care less about this Black Nick Foles Jerseys , and quite frankly, never want to see Blake again, but it would be a classy gesture for Bortles to come in and take the last series of the game as sort of a “farewell” to Jacksonville. The Jaguars’ 2018 Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee has been a terrific ambassador to the community and hopefully if such a situation arises, the fans will cheer him on give him one last “thank you” for all his hard work and always putting team ahead of self.Key matchupsJalen Ramsey vs. Josh Doctson/Jamison CrowderI’ve listed Ramsey as the first player in the matchups section all season because frankly, he’s this franchise’s most exciting player. Washington have a pedestrian receiving corps thanks to injuries and neither Josh Doctson nor Jamison Crowder are the type of talents that would cause Ramsey to shadow and follow around the field like Antonio Brown. Expect Ramsey to lock up whomever they decide to line up across from him.Yannick Ngakoue vs. Trent WilliamsThere aren’t too many marquee match ups in this game, but Yannick Ngakoue going against one of the best left tackles in the NFL in Trent Williams is one of them. This is a big game for Ngakoue personally having grown up in the Washington, D.C. area and attending college at University of Maryland, so expect him to go psycho mode and try to get to double digit sacks this season.Telvin Smith Sr./Myles Jack vs. Adrian PetersonCan we not this week with the 200-yard rusher? Thanks.Taven Bryan vs. Luke BowankoIt’s more likely that Bryan will line up across left guard Ty Nsekhe at three-technique, but if they do flip flop a little bit, a Taven Bryan vs. Luke Bowanko match up would be (kisses finger’s like a chef). Bryan needs to get his first career sack this week, and if he can’t do it against this depleted Washington interior offensive line, it might not happen this year. The pressure has been there this season for the Jags; the sacks just haven’t. It’s almost like those two 10-sack performances against the Texans and Colts last year really padded the stats.Ronnie Harrison vs. Josh JohnsonRonnie got his first career interception last week and was one of the lone bright spots on an embarrassing defensive unit. It’s still early, but early returns indicate that the Jaguars may really have found gold at strong safety with Harrison Nick Foles Jerseys 2019 , and having a talent like that producing on a third round rookie contract could be huge for the future, especially with a Jalen Ramsey extension looming.Ereck Flowers vs. Preston SmithWhile Ryan Kerrigan versus what could be Josh Wells with Jermey Parnell looking iffy may be a disaster on the right side this week, the left side will be one to watch as I believe Flowers has a future in Jacksonville as a young swing tackle. Only 24 years old, Flowers has looked fine (especially against the run) and could be vying to be the team’s opening day starter at right tackle in 2019 while Will Richardson Jr. continues to get healthy and stronger. The two most important traits for an NFL swing tackle outside of versatility and experience to play both sides is durability, and Flowers has proven to be exceptionally resilient against injuries in his career. Hopefully, Flowers doesn’t tag Preston Smith as “power” guy in the vein he had Calais Campbell as a “speed” guy earlier this season.Final predictionIf Jay Gruden does employ a full out option/zone read offense this week against Todd Wash and the Jaguars, I do think it will be a problem for them and they should find the end zone at least twice in sixty minutes by doing so. The offense hasn’t mustered double-digit points with Cody Kessler to date, and although there are vulnerabilities in the defense, they are still a respectable unit that should be able to apply pressure with their pass rush and collapse the pocket from both the interior and on the edges. This Washington team under Josh Johnson is low key a bad match up for the Jaguars, and it’s not impossible that they sneak away with a win. As mentioned above, however, a loss could equal a win for the Jags when it comes to the quarterback sweepstakes come April.Jaguars lose 14-10.