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The Jacksonville Jaguars are not in a good place. After the Chicago Bears put a 35-16 beatdown on them in London on Sunday, they have fallen to the basement of the AFC, together with the equally hapless Cleveland Browns and the rebuilding New England Patriots. Moreover, even their own players, like safety Andre Cisco, called out the Jaguars for “quitting,” while the fans wanted the team to leave coach Doug Pederson in London. Now, the Jaguars' safety Tashaun Gipson remains on the suspended players' list despite finishing his six-game suspension.
“Jaguars safety Tashaun Gipson, who had been suspended six games, was not reinstated from the suspended list today as scheduled. He remains ineligible,” per this post from NFL insider Tom Pelissero on X, formerly Twitter.
The Jaguars have problems
In the offseason, the safety reunited with the Jaguars on a one-year contract after a year with the San Francisco 49ers. He had revitalized his career there, but the NFL had suspended Gipson for six games for violating the league's performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) policy.
During his first tenure with the Jaguars, the undrafted safety became a starter on the team that advanced to the AFC title game in 2017. However, that team also blew a ten-point fourth quarter lead to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, who fell to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl.
Meanwhile, it's not only Gipson whose job seems to be in jeopardy. The embarrassing loss to the Bears put Doug Pederson on the hot seat, and he may not have enough time to turn the season around before the team tunes him out and the owners give him the ax.
What's next?
Still, he reminded his team that all they need to do is win games, a tough ask for a 1-5 team, at the risk of taking on the identity of losers throughout the season.
“That's why we coach and that's why we play,” the coach said, via Michael DiRocco of ESPN. “These guys bust their tails during the week and I don't want them to feel, even though we haven't won [many games] yet, I don't want them to feel sort of mentally defeated, if that makes sense, because that's where the slippery slope comes in.”
Again, though, it's hard not to feel “mentally defeated” when you've come out the gate and lost five out of six games.
“If you feel like you're going into a game where you don't have a chance, then you're not going to have a chance,” the coach added. “You're not going to give yourself an opportunity to win that game.”
The Jaguars will face fellow AFC bottom-dweller Patriots on Week 7. Pederson should hope his team has it all together if he wants to keep his job past the week, though owner Shahid Khan still believes in Pederson.
Likewise, the Jaguars might want to settle Gipson's reinstatement from the suspended players list.
