In addition to the great news the Jacksonville Jaguars got from the return of left tackle Cam Robinson, it appears they may have another key player back for Week 1’s regular season opener in tight end Josh Oliver. Per coach Doug Marrone, the team is shooting to have the rookie back for their battle with the Kansas City Chiefs, which would be huge for quarterback Nick Foles.
Oliver sustained a hamstring injury in the early stage of this month, which Marrone labeled as “significant” though he didn’t go into details about a timeline. However, in Monday’s practice Oliver was seen on the side field with a leg sleeve on while exercising his injured hamstring.
Oliver’s health will be definitely worth watching over the course of the next few weeks as Foles is huge on utilizing the tight end position and the same can be said for offensive coordinator John DeFilippo. Oliver was one of many rookies from the Jags’ 2019 class who impressed this summer as a receiver, which was encouraging because the Jags have lacked a receiving threat at the tight end position for most of Dave Caldwell’s tenure.
In the meantime, it appears the load will fall on veteran Geoff Swaim at tight end the position. He’s actually fared well as of late (especially as a blocker) and accumulated the second-highest Pro Football Focus grade on offense during the Jags Week 1 preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens.
