Marcus

Stroud

He didn’t talk about the injury after the game, but was heavily taped.

Stroud has one more year left on his contract. Those two players are the axis the Jaguars entire team is built around.

Jacksonville’s defensive line will be intact for the contest.

His ankle hasn’t healed. It’s good news for Julius Jones and the Dallas running game.

It looks like the Pro Bowler could miss his first game as a pro. He’s now listed as questionable on the injury report. Coupled with MLB Mike Peterson’s knee injury, Jacksonville’s defense will not be at 100% for their bout with the Cowboys.

The Jaguars have good depth on the interior line. They’ll simply insert Rob Meier (six sacks in 2005) into the starting lineup.

After undergoing offseason surgery last year, Stroud came down with a staph infection in his shoulder, leading to his release from the Patriots. Now 33 after a year away from football, Stroud is seeking a job as a rotational lineman, likely in a 4-3 defense. Stroud estimates he’s 60 percent healthy now and expects to be 100 percent by June.

Stroud, who turns 34 next week, spent seven productive seasons in Jacksonville after they drafted him with the No. 13 overall pick in 2001. In his prime, Stroud was a premier run-stuffer that also racked up 22 sacks as a Jaguar, playing alongside Big John Henderson. Stroud made three Pro Bowls. Shoulder injuries and an inability to fit in a 3-4 scheme crippled Stroud’s late-season career in Buffalo and New England.

Considering the Chargers ran all over Jacksonville, it’s not an experiment we expect to continue. Why mess with the best interior linemen combo in the league?

He played defensive end last week.