JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey returned to practice on a limited basis Wednesday as he continues to battle a back injury that caused him to miss the past two games.
This was the first time that Ramsey has practiced in any capacity since Sept. 18. He visited a back specialist in Houston on Monday.
"[The visit to the specialist] just confirmed what our doctors have said," Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone said. "Today we expect him to be outside, and we're going to try to do a little bit more and just keep testing it and pushing it. He's working extremely hard to get back and everyone's doing everything they can."
Marrone said the team would be careful with Ramsey to avoid a setback and help him recover in time to possibly play against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
"I think we're just going to take it step-by-step," Marrone said. "We'll stretch in here and see how that goes. If that goes well, then we'll go outside. We'll warm up, we'll stretch, and if that goes well, we'll go to the next [step]. We'll just take it step-by-step."
Ramsey reported the back injury during the Jaguars' victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sept. 19, which came four days after Ramsey asked the team to trade him after being chastised by Jaguars executive VP of football operations Tom Coughlin for his sideline shouting match with Marrone during a 13-12 loss to the Houston Texans.
Ramsey played against the Titans, but he did not practice the following Monday (Sept. 23) because of an illness. He also missed that Wednesday's practice with the back injury. Marrone said he didn't know when Ramsey suffered the injury, but the team released a statement later that day saying Ramsey reported back soreness to the team's medical staff during the fourth quarter of the game against the Titans.
Also that day, the team announced that Ramsey would return to his hometown for the impending birth of his second child.
Ramsey rejoined the Jaguars three days later and flew on the team charter to Denver, where he was inactive for the game against the Broncos.
He did not practice at all last week and did not play against Carolina.
"It's always good to see Jalen," teammate Abry Jones said Wednesday about seeing Ramsey at practice. "He's always a person we love to have in the locker room and things like that. As long as we can check on him and make sure he's all right and stuff like that."
Added teammate D.J. Hayden: "It's nice to see Jalen's face. It's very nice. It's very heartwarming. It's good to see Jalen out there."