Jaguars QB Blaine Gabbert (shoulder) is expected to play against Green Bay on Sunday, but coach Mike Mularkey has been hesitant to go into detail about injuries. (US Presswire) |
Jaguars coach Mike Mularkey gagged his players from discussing injuries with the media during the preseason, threatening a $10,000 fine for those who were in violation.
Now he’s taking a similar approach himself. Mularkey has been tight-lipped about the status of multiple players, including the extent of a shoulder injury to QB Blaine Gabbert. Gabbert reportedly has a torn labrum in his non-throwing left shoulder, but Mularkey refuses to confirm or deny that, citing the need for a competitive advantage.
He has said that he expects Gabbert to start at Green Bay on Sunday, but he has given no indication if he thinks it will limit him in any way, or how long a complete recovery could take.
“I think I’m just going to handle it that way from now on,’’ Mularkey told the Florida Times-Union. “Players are different and they respond differently to treatment and pain tolerance, so I’ll never get into a time frame for guys to return. You’re trying to gain any edge on anything to win the game. Injuries are part of that.’’
Backup QB Chad Henne didn’t give any clues as to Gabbert’s prognosis other than saying that he’ll have to be ready -- just like he should be every week.
“He’s going to go until they tell him he can’t,” Henne said of Gabbert, via the team’s official website. “I’ve just got to be ready. Preparation is going to pick up for me, but it’s not like I haven’t been prepared the last six weeks.”
LB Stanford close to starting lineup: Rookie LB Julian Stanford has already defied the odds by being on the team. An undrafted free agent out of Wagner (N.Y.) College, he was on the bubble to make the roster out of training camp, but he found his way on to the team partially due to injuries to veteran LBs Clint Session (concussion) and Daryl Smith (groin).
Now, after five games of solid work as a reserve and on special teams, Stanford has passed LB Kyle Bosworth in the rotation, and he could get a start at Green Bay on Sunday.
“With the play Julian had on special teams, I was going to give him a little longer look,” linebackers coach Mark Duffner told the Florida Times-Union. “(On special teams), you see play-making, you see him getting off blocks, making open-field tackles and hunting down the football. We want that same approach on defense.”
WR Robinson back on practice field: WR Laurent Robinson passed a concussion test and returned to the practice field Wednesday for some limited work. He hasn’t played since Sept. 30 after sustaining two concussions in two weeks, and he will be listed as questionable for Green Bay this week.
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