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Jaguars’ linebacker Jake Ryan suffered a setback on July 25th to his surgically repaired knee during the offseason which forced the team to place him on the NFI (non-football injury list). Since then, the fifth-year veteran has yet to suit up for the team in any capacity.
Now, Jaguars’ head coach Doug Marrone indicated during his Monday morning press conference that Ryan is expected to come off the team’s NFI list and practice for the first time this season.
Ryan originally tore his ACL during the preseason as a member of the Green Bay Packers in 2018. Ryan signed a two-year $6.5M contract with the team during free agency with the expectation of playing a key role whether at the team’s strong-side linebacker position or at middle linebacker with an idea of playing linebacker Myles Jack along the weak-side.
Currently, the Jaguars give up the most yards-per-carry in the NFL (5.1 ypc) according to football outsiders, getting a run-stuffing linebacker like Ryan back should pay dividends for the team moving forward.
The Jaguars have suffered multiple injuries at the linebacker position this season causing them to sign street free agents to fill in. Now, the team is expected to be as healthy as ever.
“We expect everyone to be out there practicing,” Marrone said. “We’re healthy after the bye, which is one of the goals that you want to do — we feel good about it with the players going out today.”