JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Even though Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Marrone said he won't rest the team's starters for Sunday's game against Tennessee, it wouldn't be surprising if receivers Allen Hurns and Marqise Lee sit out as they continue to recover from ankle injuries.
That would mean that the Jaguars, once again, would have to rely on two rookies and an inexperienced first-year player as the primary receivers.
Lee missed last weeks' game in San Francisco after suffering a sprained ankle early in the Jaguars' victory over Houston on Dec. 17 and may need another week before he's able to return. Hurns practiced on a limited basis last week for the first time since spraining his ankle late in regulation of the Jaguars victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Nov. 12 but was inactive against the 49ers.
Marrone said Hurns could be on pace for a return on Sunday but it depends on how his ankle handles the week of practice.
"We had a good week last week, where it wasn't really at 100 percent, but really had a good work load last week, so we feel that he's trending in the right direction," Marrone said. "I'll just take a look at it when he's running the routes and stuff that we have in the plan during the week."
It's unlikely that Lee goes this week, and that's probably the best way to ensure that he's as healthy as possible for the playoffs on Jan. 6 or 7. The Jaguars (10-5) are locked into the No. 3 seed in the AFC and it would be irresponsible to have a less-than-100 percent Lee on the field to risk further injury and jeopardize any chance of playing the playoffs.
The Jaguars lost Jaelen Strong to a torn ACL in the loss to the 49ers and will place him on IR in the next few days. Marrone said the team plans to call up rookie Montay Crockett from the practice squad. If Hurns is unable to play Crockett would be the Jaguars' fourth receiver behind Keelan Cole, Dede Westbrook, and first-year player Jaydon Mickens.
Cole, Westbrook and Mickens were the Jaguars' main receivers against the Texans after Lee's injury and performed well: Cole had seven catches for 186 yards and a touchdown and Mickens caught two touchdowns. However, the group wasn't as effective in last Sunday's loss to San Francisco. Cole had six catches for 108 yards but he was targeted 13 times and was the target on all three of Blake Bortles' interceptions.
Westbrook caught four passes for 74 yards on seven targets and Mickens had just one catch for 5 yards on four targets.
It was the first time that their inexperience really hurt the offense and the Jaguars really need Hurns and Lee -- who have a combined 357 catches for 4,797 yards and 29 touchdowns in eight seasons -- back in the lineup for the playoffs. That's much more important than playing this week, especially since the Jaguars can't improve or hurt their playoff seeding.