Jaguars place rookie corner CJ Henderson on injured reserve

Announced by the club today, the Jaguars have placed rookie cornerback CJ Henderson on the team’s reserve/injured list with a groin injury, sidelining him for at least three weeks.

Henderson, selected with the team’s first-first round pick at ninth overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, was the starting cornerback throughout training camp and through the first nine games of the season.

Drafted out of the University of Florida, Henderson was expected to make a major impact with the Jaguars, becoming the apparent replacement for A.J. Bouye, who was traded shortly prior to the draft.

On the year, Henderson has totaled 37 tackles (27 solos), six pass breakups, one forced fumble and one interception. His interception would come in the team’s Week 1 contest against the Indianapolis Colts, the Jaguars’ only victory on the year thus far, now standing at 1-8 with seven games remaining.

With Henderson now out, the Jaguars will have to turn to either rookie CB Chris Claybrooks, or veteran Tre Herndon. The Jaguars also began the process to activate nickel cornerback DJ Hayden who would immediately regain his starting role, allowing Herndon to move back outside. Opposite of Henderson over the past few weeks has been veteran Sidney Jones.

“I think CJ [Henderson] has shown, it’s like anything else when you’re young, you’re going to want more,” Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone said last week. “It’s just up and down but he’s going to continue to keep going. With greater consistency, I think there’ll much greater accolades ahead for him and he has the ability to do it, so that’s not an issue.”