JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The Jacksonville Jaguars have placed starting cornerback Alan Ball on injured reserve with a bicep injury.
The Jaguars signed fourth-year cornerback Tommie Campbell to replace Ball on the 53-man roster. Campbell had to fly to Miami earlier this week to get an expedited passport since the Jaguars are traveling to London after Sunday night’s game at Cincinnati.
Campbell could end up on the field against the Bengals.
Not only is Jacksonville without Ball, but second-year cornerback Dwayne Gratz was limited in practice Wednesday with a groin injury. Veteran cornerback Will Blackmon, who plays in the slot in nickel and dime defenses, is out indefinitely following surgery Tuesday to repair a broken index finger on his left hand.
“Unfortunate about the injury with Alan Ball,” coach Gus Bradley said. “That’s a tough one. We never want to downplay the importance of a guy like Alan Ball. He was important to us and our success that we had in the secondary, but another guy will stand up. We’ll move on.”
Ball started 22 games for the Jaguars over the past two seasons, including seven this year.
Gratz or Jeremy Harris will move into the starting lineup opposite fellow second-year player Demetrius McCray.
Losing Ball is the latest setback for Jacksonville’s improving defense. The Jaguars (1-7) already lost starting linebacker Paul Posluszny for the season with a torn chest muscle and defensive end Andre Branch for at last five more weeks with a groin injury.
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