Jaguars Designate Brandon Linder, James O'Shaughnessy to Return From IR

The Jacksonville Jaguars will be getting two veterans back on the offense in the near future, with the club announcing on Wednesday that center Brandon Linder and tight end James O'Shaughnessy were both being designated to return from injured reserve. 

The Jaguars have 21 days for Linder and O'Shaughnessy to return to the active roster, meaning each will likely be back on the field in some capacity in the next few games.

Linder has missed the last four games with an ankle and MCL sprain he sustained in the second-half of Week 5's loss to the Tennessee Titans. 

Linder has started 84 games for the Jaguars since his rookie season, with the last 66 of those starts coming at center. Linder has consistently been pointed to as the lynchpin of the offensive line, especially with a rookie quarterback in Trevor Lawrence taking snaps. 

Linder has since been replaced by consistent and steady veteran backup center Tyler Shatley, but getting Linder back in the lineup could be a boost for an offense that has scored three touchdowns in the last three games, especially since the Jaguars currently have two starting offensive linemen missing from the lineup due to injuries with Linder and right guard A.J. Cann.

“We are down two studs there. I mean,  Linder is my guy and he’s a Jaguar, he’s a leader, he’s the apex of the offense. "And [Tyler] Shatley is a veteran guy that has done pretty good. But to say that we don’t miss Linder, that’s incorrect," Urban Meyer said on Nov. 5. "And then A.J. [Cann] was playing some pretty good ball for us, too. [Ben] Bartch has done very good and then Will [Richardson Jr.]."

O'Shaughnessy could bring a boost to a skills group that, per Sports Info Solutions, are fourth in the NFL in drops with 21. The Jaguars' entire offense has struggled in recent weeks but the passing game has been especially stagnant, with the Jaguars averaging just 16.6 points per game, which is 31st in the NFL.

O'Shaughnessy caught seven passes for 72 yards in the first two weeks despite playing just 62 snaps. Since then, tight end Dan Arnold has become one of the biggest pieces of the Jaguars' offense, catching 27 passes for 323 yards (12.0 yards per catch), with 17 first downs.