One of the things that stood out when the Jacksonville Jaguars announced their initial 53-man roster was that first-year safety Caleb Ransaw was going to be placed on the Injured Reserve, effectively ending his rookie campaign before it even began.
The move came as a surprise because Ransaw was supposedly day-to-day while rehabbing a lower-body injury and was expected to return for the regular season. One day after cutdown day, Jags general manager James Gladstone brought some clarity to the situation.
Caleb Ransaw's injury was more serious than the Jaguars originally thought
James Gladstone met with the local media after assembling the initial 53-man roster and said that the team realized Caleb Ransaw was going to need foot surgery after he took the boot off.
"Yeah, it's unfortunate. He had a non-contact injury on his foot that ultimately we put him in a boot with the hope that it wouldn't result in surgery. Checked after the boot came off, and it was clear that it was going to have to go in. And so, he ended up having the surgery," Gladstone said (7:20 mark). "Still had optimism that there was a chance towards the back half of the year that he would be able to return and do a designation for return."
Gladstone continued, "Unfortunately, it ended up being that it was going to be too close to the buzzer, so to speak, and it would have been some version of trying to rush him back. Looking at the long game, it makes the most sense to make sure his recovery timeline isn't rushed, and we can go about it the right way for him. And yeah, it's disappointing because he is somebody that we certainly had a very vivid vision for, and he was progressing at an extremely high rate."
"But nonetheless, we have a good group that is ready to bring it to life on the grass and play together, playing in tandem, and looking forward to seeing that here against the Carolina Panthers."
A third-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Ransaw was making the switch to safety after playing cornerback at Tulane. He routinely stood out in the offseason program and was expected to start at some point of his rookie season. However, the plan came to an abrupt halt when he suffered a foot injury.
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The Jaguars made the right call when they put Caleb Ransaw on Injured Reserve
All things considered, placing Caleb Ransaw on Injured Reserve without a designation to return was the best course of action. After all, it didn't make sense to activate him and rush his recovery. The Jacksonville Jaguars would have needed to free up a roster spot when he returned, and it wouldn't have made sense to use it on a player who might not have contributed on game day.
On top of that, the Jaguars have a well-rounded group in Andrew Wingard, Eric Murray, Darnell Savage, and Antonio Johnson, so they're going to be able to withstand Ransaw's absence in 2025.
Ultimately, the Jaguars would've surely loved to have Caleb Ransaw around next season, but placing him on IR will ensure he's back at full strength and can make an impact in 2026.
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