JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars made a couple of roster moves Tuesday, each of which could have a profound impact on the next few weeks of the season.
Along with the signing of long snapper Jacob Bobenmoyer to the practice squad, the Jaguars also signed safety Kaevon Merriweather to the active roster of the practice squad, as well as placed left tackle Anton Harrison on injured reserve.
So, what do we make of each move and what it means moving forward, especially in the wake of the latest Anton Harrison update ? We break it down below.
Between this move and last week's usage at the safety position, the Jaguars are making it fairly clear where they stand on the safety pecking order. Until it changes during a game, it certainly appears the Jaguars' answer during Eric Murray's time out is for Rayuan Lane and Merriweather to be the No. 2 and No. 3 safeties behind Antonio Johnson, leaving third-round rookie Jalen Huskey on the sidelines. This was how the Jaguars approached Week 5, with Huskey logging zero snaps on defense as a result.
"But it'd be great to get Eric [S Eric Murray] back, hopefully, but if not, have a lot of confidence. I thought Kaevon [Merriweather] had a great week of practice, and did some nice things in the game," Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said Monday. "I thought Ray [S Rayuan Lane III] did some nice things in the game. There's communication that's always going to exist when you have to play with some other guys. They stepped up, helped us win the game."
We have a smaller sample size with Merriweather than with Lane, but this will be a situation to watch moving forward if Murray continues to miss time. But as things stand today, it is clear how the dust has settled.
The Jaguars' injured reserve list sure is growing longer. The Jaguars have now placed two key players on injured reserve in back-to-back weeks with Harrison and second-year safety Caleb Ransaw a week ago, with second-year defensive end BJ Green II also being placed on injured reserve after Week 1. This follows the Jaguars placing offensive lineman Patrick Mekari and defensive end Zach Durfee on injured reserve ahead of the start of the season.
Outside of Durfee, these are all critical players the Jaguars were set to lean on in some fashion this year, whether it be as starters or top depth options. The Jaguars have been mostly healthy, but the injuries have piled up over the last few weeks, and now so is the injured reserve list as a result of them.
With Harrison out for the next four games at least, the earliest he could return is in Week 11 against the New York Giants (if he is able to return at all). It is pretty clear that the Jaguars are set to place Walekr Little back in the left tackle spot that he once occupied, with Little playing quite well against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 5 during the second-half. But what about the swing tackle spot that Little used to hold?
Second-year offensive lineman Wyatt Milum is set to likely to step into the swing tackle role for the next couple of weeks. The Jaguars could also start having offensive lineman Daniel Faalele active and could turn to him as a swing option, while Mekari gives them another option once he comes of the injured reserve.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/jaguars/onsi as 3 Observations on Jaguars' Post-Eagles Roster Moves: Anton Harrison and Kaevon Merriweather Impacts .
