The Jacksonville Jaguars will be without lead running back Leonard Fournette as they face the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead on Sunday.
The Jacksonville Jaguars still have several days to prepare and rest up for their Week 5 meeting with the Kansas City Chiefs, but team officials have already made it clear that cornerback D.J. Hayden and running back Leonard Fournette will not be on the team’s active roster when they play.
The pair of Jags players have been dealing with injuries in recent weeks, and Fournette has been trying to overcome a hamstring injury that will ultimately keep him out this week and potentially a few more. He aggravated it against the New York Jets in Week 4 and had to leave the game. He also dealt with a hamstring injury in the season opener and didn’t play in Weeks 2-3.
Fournette has yet to really get the ball moving in 2018 after a strong rookie season in which he eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark and put up 9 touchdowns for the Jaguars. He has 20 rushing attempts on the year for 71 rushing yards.
Without Fournette, the team will once again turn to T.J. Yeldon as their featured running back. He has 49 carries for 205 rushing yards on the season, good for a 4.1 yards/carry average. Last week Yeldon had his first touchdown in a victory over the Jets. The Jags could also turn to Corey Grant, who has 12 carries for 32 yards this season, or Brandon Wilds in their attempts to replace Fournette’s carries.
Hayden will sit with a toe injury on Sunday and while he’s not one of the team’s starters on the outside with A.J. Bouye and Jalen Ramsey on board, he does provide immediate depth in any and all sub packages on the team moves into a nickel defense. Hayden’s absence will test the team’s depth in the secondary as the Chiefs bring their several offensive weapons to bear on the Jags.