For the second year in a row, the Jacksonville Jaguars will be entering the home stretch of the season without left tackle Cam Robinson.
And for second year in a row, the Jaguars are optimistic their offensive line depth can shoulder the loss.
Robinson suffered a knee injury in the first-quarter of the Jaguars' Week 12 win over the Houston Texans and was placed on injured reserve the next day.
Robinson, who missed the first four games of 2023 due to suspension, has started the last seven games at left tackle and is the second-most experienced player on the Jaguars' offensive line.
Robinson will now miss at least four games, though there appears to be a chance he returns to the field before the playoffs begin.
“I believe so. We’ll see how he does these next couple of weeks but optimistic that we could, yes," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said this week.
Robinson left Sunday's game after 12 snaps, which moved Ezra Cleveland to left guard and Walker Little to left tackle, where he started the first four games of the season.
“Yeah, aside from his play on the field, he’s obviously a great player. He can do a lot, really athletic, good in protections. All those things. A lot of energy, he brings a lot of juice, he’s definitely one of the leaders up front," Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence said this week.
It will be Little and Cleveland who the Jaguars will rely on to help the offense not lose its momentum in the wake of Robinson's injury. Little started the first four games of the season at left tackle, while Cleveland started six games for the Vikings this season.
"We’re going to have to fill that void and Walker’s [Little] going to do a great job. He’s a heck of a player, he can do so many things. Obviously, he’s played guard, left tackle, right tackle. He’s played almost every spot on the line," Lawrence said.
"Very experienced, he knows what it’s like to be a starter, but also to have to fill in and come in and be the tackle if Cam goes down. There’s been some things in the past that he’s had to do this. It makes you feel confident having a guy in there that’s played a lot of football and that knows what he’s doing, can move around, communicate.
"We’re all going to have to bring some juice and fill that because Cam does that. He brings a lot of energy, he plays with a certain swag about him that’s just a little bit different. He carries himself that way and I think it’s great for our team. We’ve got to continue to bring that and play with that edge, even if he’s not out there. He’ll hopefully be back sooner rather than later, but yeah, we’ve got to find a way to do that. I don’t have any concerns about how the guys are going to play up front. I think they’re going to do a heck of a job. Ezra [OL Ezra Cleveland] and Walker did a great job last week when they stepped in.”
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