Jerry Porter Hamstring Injury: Trouble Brewing? (Updated)

[Note by River City Rage, 07/18/08 10:11 PM EDT ]UPDATE: Jerry Porter underwent a surgical procedure to repair his hamstring.  Jaguars.com, to it's credit, has a very in-depth story on what happened.  Clearly, this is now a "thing", and we'll monitor it closely.  Now, do your homework this weekend and figure out the recovery rate of this injury.

John Clayton of ESPN is reporting that Jaguars Wide Receiver Jerry Porter will likely miss part of training camp due to a lingering hamstring injury from training camp.  You'll recall that Jerry "came up lame" during a drill during OTA's that caused him to have limited participation in minicamp, this indicates that the injury is a bigger problem than we realized.

From Clayton:

Porter hurt the hamstring toward the end of an offseason practice in May, according to the Florida Times-Union. According to two sources, he will not be ready for the start of camp next Friday. Porter is expected to recover in time for the start of the regular season.

Porter's absence from training camp will be a setback to the offense. The Jaguars gave Porter a six-year, $30.4 million contract with the hopes of using him as a No. 1 receiver. Porter told reporters this spring he wasn't going to rush back from the injury because hamstring problems tend to linger.

The Jaguars have the depth to carry then through until Porter is healthy. Troy Williamson, acquired from the Vikings in an offseason trade, has impressed coaches with his speed and pass-catching ability. Reggie Williams is the starter on the other side. Dennis Northcutt can work the slot.

He's exactly right, the Jaguars have the depth.  If anything, Porter is the "known quantity" of the Jaguars wide receivers, and his absence from practice means that Williamson, Walker, and long-shot guys like D'Juan Woods, Jeron Harvey, and Clyde Edwards get a few more chances to prove their value. 

While establishing a relationship with a new quarterback is important, Porter is a professional veteran receiver, so I trust that he's able to study and understand the offense without too much trouble.  While not having him on the field with Garrard and the other receivers is troubling, it's still over a month until the regular season, and there's plenty of time to get him going in the latter weeks of August.

As far as injuries go, the Jaguars are relatively unscathed, with Porter being the most notable.  

As an interesting twist, the absence of Porter might lead the Jaguars to contradict my previously reported rumor of an imminent Matt Jones release because of a need for another warm body at receiver.  If there were to be some sort of amazing Matt Jones reclamation project, the fates would be smiling on Jones right now, because there's a slight opening for his services during camp.

It would be an awful experience for Jones, considering the intimacy of the fans to the practices, but his last best shot is through hard work. 

As usual, we'll be watching this closely.  It's not like Porter is undergoing major knee surgery or anything, so it's hopefully a minor thing.  The upside of this is that some of the deeper receivers will get a better look by the coaches, which is never a bad thing.

-Chris