JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars made five moves on Saturday, highlighted by the decision to take defensive tackle Sen’Derrick Marks off PUP and move him to the active roster, to trim the active roster to 53 players.
The Jaguars, who released 18 players on Friday, also placed defensive tackle Ziggy Hood on IR with a foot injury and released offensive lineman Austin Pasztor, linebacker Jeremiah George and safety Craig Loston.
Marks has been rehabbing a torn right ACL, an injury he suffered in the 2014 season finale, and has yet to practice so his status for the first several weeks of the season is unclear at this point. He is the team’s best interior rusher (team-high 8.5 sacks last season) and last season was the Jaguars’ best player, period.
The Jaguars’ defense is dealing with injuries to several key players heading into the season opener. In addition to Marks, defensive end Andre Branch has a sprained MCL and safety Johnathan Cyprien has a fractured finger. The Jaguars have not released a timetable for Branch’s return but Cyprien is expected to play against Carolina on Sept. 13.
Hood was injured during the Jaguars’ preseason finale against Washington last Thursday. With his injury, the Jaguars likely will slide backup defensive end Tyson Alualu inside to man the spot that Marks will reclaim once he’s cleared to play.
Special-teams standout LaRoy Reynolds also has a sprained MCL and a timetable for his return hasn’t been determined.
Some tidbits about the 53-man roster:
Four undrafted rookies made the team: running back Corey Grant, LB Thurston Armbrister, CB Nick Marshall and K Jason Myers.
The team kept six linebackers, with the sixth being John Lotulelei, who has become a solid special-teams player.
The team also kept five running backs. Grant made the team mainly as a kick returner.
