It seemed like Cooper Hodges would only be temporarily sidelined when he was injured in preseason. Instead, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ seventh-round pick missed his entire rookie season on the team’s injured reserve without much of a whisper about a potential return.
According to Jaguars team reporter John Oehser, Hodges never made his return in 2023 because the patella injury he suffered eventually required surgery.
The Jaguars liked him very much – enough to keep him on the active roster entering the regular season even though he was going to start the season on injured reserve with a patella injury. That meant he took a roster spot. He eventually underwent surgery and missed the entire season. My thought is he likely would have played – and perhaps started – at some point this past season. We don’t know for certain how he would have fared. I expect he will enter the offseason and camp with a chance to contribute or start.
Hodges, 23, was making a strong impression in training camp before suffering a going down in the Jaguars’ second preseason game. The initial prognosis for Hodges wasn’t too severe with Doug Pederson telling reporters in August that the lineman was “going to miss a little time.”
“He’s still on track,” Pederson said on Oct. 9. “He’s not necessarily ready to put a lot of load-bearing weight on that knee right now, but he’s another one that’s getting close.”
The Jaguars’ depth on the interior offensive line was tested often in 2023 with Walker Little, Ben Bartch, Tyler Shatley, Ezra Cleveland, and Blake Hance all seeing time at left guard. It seems likely that Hodges would’ve been inserted into the lineup at some point late in the year if he’d been able to return.
Addressing the team’s offensive line woes will be a top priority for the Jaguars this offseason. It’d be a significant boon for the team if Hodges returned at full health in 2024 and pushed for a starting role.
