James Robinson injury provides another obstacle in Jaguars 2022 rebuild

By Hays Carlyon

The Jaguars lost to the New York Jets on Sunday. Nobody should really care about that.

We’ve reached the “it’s better if they lose” part of another Jaguars season of misery, as the franchise currently holds the top pick.

However, the Jaguars lost more than a game in New Jersey.

They lost their most proven offensive weapon in running back James Robinson. The second-year veteran tore his Achilles tendon early in the contest.

Besides a significant injury to rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence, this was basically the last thing the Jaguars needed.

They are searching for a new head coach who already is going to have an unbelievably difficult task to make the Jaguars competitive in 2022.

Now, both top Jaguars running backs will be coming off of serious injuries next year. Rookie first-rounder Travis Etienne suffered a foot injury in the preseason and has yet to play.

Robinson finished the season with 767 rushing yards, with a 4.7 yards-per-carry average, and eight touchdowns. He gained 222 receiving yards, bringing his offensive yardage total to 989.

The new coach will have to hope Robinson can get back to his consistent power running ability, while Etienne becomes a sizzling all-around playmaker. But the unfortunate term “hope” will apply to both.

Hope doesn’t often work out well here.

I am hopeful Robinson’s recovery will be similar to Cam Akers’ this season. The Los Angeles Rams standout running back tore his Achilles in July. He is close to returning to action after five months.

Robinson has an eight-month window to get back to full strength. However, it creates another layer of instability in an unstable franchise with massive holes on both sides of the ball.

This isn’t a roster with even several dependable producers. Robinson is one of the few and now he’s a question mark.

The Jaguars will go through free agency and the draft hoping Robinson will be fine but without any real proof.

Robinson is just 23 years old and hopefully will come back as the player we all respect.

But we all know a sad truth.

Hope doesn’t often work out well here.

This was another devastating result in a devastating season.

(You can email Hays at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @HaysCarlyon).