The Jacksonville Jaguars will kick off their 2022 season today against the Washington Commanders at 1 p.m. ET at FedEx Field in the rain. Both teams are in search of their first win in their new campaigns and have rebuilt their rosters in the offseason to get off to a fast start this year.
Jacksonville announced their inactives for the Week 1 matchup on Twitter Sunday morning:
#JAXvsWAS Inactives pic.twitter.com/a8IO0pqJ2t
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) September 11, 2022
Their decision to leave three defensive players inactive heading into the scrum is a testament to the faith they have in their depth on that side of the ball. Linebacker De’Shaan Dixon and rookie cornerback Montaric Brown were quiet stars of the Jaguars’ preseason but will have to wait until next week to see their first action in a game that counts.
With a stable of solid skill position players on offense, their decision to deactivate their newest receiver, Kendrick Pryor, is a sound strategic move. The choice to carry JaMycal Hasty over Snoop Conner as their third running back won’t make much of an impact on the outcome of the game and is likely to give Jacksonville their first glimpse of Hasty in the teal and black.
All of the players on the Jaguars’ list are rookies, with the exception of Daniel Thomas, who is in his third professional season. Dixon and Pryor were undrafted free agents back in April, while Conner and Brown were fifth and seventh-round selections respectively.
None of the players that were set as inactive were slated to be starters, nor were they included on the Jaguars’ injury reports earlier in the week. With these moves, head coach Doug Pederson has effectively revealed the core group of players he thinks will give Jacksonville the best chance to win games in 2022.
Stay tuned to Jaguars Wire as we bring you all the action from the team’s season opener today in Washington.
