The Panthers may not have left tackle Ikem Ekwonu for their first game of the season.
Head coach Dave Canales said on Wednesday that Ekwonu had an appendectomy last Sunday after complaining of stomach pain over the weekend. The team will monitor him for the next week before making any decisions about his status for Week 1’s game against the Jaguars.
“We’ve seen these things turn around in a little over a week,” Canales said, via David Newton of ESPN.com. “It can be longer. It just depends on each individual’s body, on how you respond to the surgery, how your body heals the right way. So, it’s going to be day-to-day all the way up until the game.”
Canales said Yosh Nijman would be the left tackle if Ekwonu isn’t able to play on September 7.
Jaguars rookie wide receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter is ready to play both ways in Week One against the Panthers.
Although Hunter was held out of some training camp practices and the final preseason game because of an injury, Jaguars General Manager James Gladstone says Hunter is now at full speed on the practice field.
“He’s on the grass today and rolling full speed,” Gladstone said.
Asked if the Jaguars still think Hunter can play both offense and defense, Gladstone says that has always been the plan and hasn’t changed.
“There hasn’t been any shift on that front,” Gladstone said. “We expect him to be who we know him to be, and that’s somebody who impacts both sides of the football. We can’t wait to see that on Sundays, and one Monday night, this season.”
Gladstone said the Jaguars are excited about what they can do with their game-day active rosters because Hunter playing two positions gives them more flexibility.
“It goes a long way,” Gladstone said. “You’ve got an extra active, essentially, somebody who’s going both ways.”
The 49ers claimed defensive lineman Jordan Jefferson off waivers Wednesday, the team announced.
They waived defensive lineman Evan Anderson in a corresponding move.
Jefferson was drafted by the Jaguars in the fourth round in 2024. He appeared in eight games and totaled 12 tackles, a sack and a pass defensed.
The Jaguars waived him Tuesday.
Anderson appeared in 12 games, with one start, with the 49ers and registered 24 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
The 49ers also announced the signing of 13 practice squad players, and the list includes veteran cornerback Eli Apple. They also signed wide receiver Junior Bergen, defensive lineman William Bradley-King, defensive back Derrick Canteen, wide receiver Robbie Chosen, defensive lineman Trevis Gipson, linebacker Jalen Graham, offensive lineman Drake Nugent, linebacker Curtis Robinson, wide receiver Malik Turner, defensive lineman Sebastian Valdez, tight end Brayden Willis and offensive lineman Nick Zakelj.
The Colts claimed linebacker Chad Muma off waivers on Wednesday and waived defensive tackle Tim Smith in a corresponding move, the team announced.
The Jaguars waived Muma on Tuesday.
Muma was a 2022 third-round pick by Jacksonville, and he played in all but one of the team’s games in his time there. Muma started only seven games, though, and the changes to the coaching staff and front office this offseason left him without any ties to the people who brought him to Jacksonville.
Muma had 94 tackles, 1.5 sacks and three passes defensed during his time with the Jags.
The Colts selected Smith in the sixth round this spring. From 2020-24 at Alabama, he appeared in 64 career games with 32 starts and registered 124 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, two passes defensed and one forced fumble.
The Jaguars have confirmed Wednesday morning’s reports that they agreed to trade for wide receiver Tim Patrick.
Patrick will go to Jacksonville and the Jags will send a 2026 sixth-round pick back to the Lions. The deal will become official once Patrick passes a physical.
The Jaguars have opened a roster spot for Patrick while waiting for that physical to take place. They announced that they have waived wide receiver Austin Trammell.
Trammell spent last season on the team’s practice squad. He appeared in one game and had two catches for 40 yards. He also had six catches for 42 yards in 22 games for the Rams and he appeared in two games for the Falcons.
Brian Thomas, Travis Hunter, Dyami Brown, and Parker Washington are the Jaguars’ other wideouts.
