Doug Pederson Explains Why DaVon Hamilton did not play though healthy in Jaguars win over Titans
The Tennessee Titans were defeated 34-14 by the Jacksonville Jaguars, but the biggest surprise of the game wasn’t on the field. It appeared on the inactive list instead. DaVon Hamilton, a seasoned defensive lineman, was shockingly listed as inactive for the Jaguars on Sunday even though he hadn’t shown on the injury report during the week. Doug Pederson, the head coach of the Jaguars, verified following the game that Hamilton was a healthy scratch. Pederson made this decision on his own, and it stemmed from the fact that Hamilton missed the first half of the season and the final half of training camp.
“The scratch was not harmful. Pederson added, “Listen, I won’t go into everything with him because we’ve had some conversations with him and everything, but it was healthy.” “I just want to make sure he’s prepared to go, both physically and mentally. As you are well aware, we will not expose someone to any additional risk, so I decided to give him a week off, assess his condition, give him more practice, increase his reps, and bring him back to where he was a year ago. He’s lost a great deal of time.”
Because of a back condition unrelated to football, Hamilton was placed on injured reserve prior to the start of the season. After missing the season’s first seven games, he made a comeback in Week 8 and played 14 plays. Next, against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 10, Hamilton played 16 snaps. “You have to realize how much time he has missed. He’s worked extremely hard to put himself in a position to assist us, but I think it’s taken a little bit of a toll,” Pederson remarked. “I think it’s going to be a week-to-week decision, but he understands where we are, and he appreciated that, and we’ll see where he’s at again this week.”
Hamilton was the first player selected by the Jaguars in the 2020 NFL Draft class to sign a new contract. He was selected with the 73rd overall pick in the third round of the draft. Since Cam Robinson and punter Logan Cooke signed extensions, Hamilton is the first draft pick of the Jaguars to do so. Prior to the season, Hamilton agreed to a $34.5 million, three-year contract extension.
