The Jacksonville Jaguars’ win against the Cincinnati Bengals was huge for their momentum, but it appears that it was a costly one. The team came out of the game relatively beat up at the linebacker position and they now have some injuries to deal with in the defensive trenches as nose tackle Marcell Dareus is away seeking a second opinion on a core muscle injury.
If surgery is needed, he’ll be out four to six weeks, which would be for a good bit of the second half of the season.
Dareus came out of the Jags’ most recent game against the Bengals with an abdominal injury but later returned. He finished the game with a tackle and pass deflection on the day, bringing his total to 13 tackles on the year.
Dareus is a player who most agree is the Jags’ best run defender and this core muscle injury is something that could be difficult to play with at the nose tackle position. Then again, players have pushed through them in the past, so it could be a matter of pain tolerance.
Jags coach Doug Marrone told the media that Dareus would receive treatment for the issue and hopes to have him back on the field soon. That said, maybe the Jags are trying to get to the bye week (in two weeks) before potentially making a decision.
Behind Dareus on the depth chart is second-year player Taven Bryan and they also have rookie Dontavius Russell. Russell, who is a nose tackle like Dareus, could be up for more playing time in Dareus’ spot, while Bryan, who is playing well behind the line of scrimmage, definitely could see an increase in snaps as he’s already exceeded 28 snaps in his last two games.
