Jacksonville Jaguars running back Toby Gerhart will miss the Jaguars preseason opener due to a hip injury.
According to ESPN, Gerhart has missed the last five practices due to a hip flexor injury. The Jaguars are being cautious with Gerhart and decided that it would be best to let him recover than play in the preseason opener. Gerhart is expected to be the main running back for the Jaguars this season.
"He's made great progress but we just felt like at this point in time, for the number of carries he's going to get in there, we'd rather have that recovery time," Jaguars coach Gus Bradley said.
Gerhart signed three-year, $10.5 million contract with the Jaguars in March. He replaced Maurice Jones-Drew, who went to the Oakland Raiders. The first four years of his career were spent in Minnesota where he was Adrian Peterson’s backup. While in Minnesota Gerhart had 1,305 yards and five touchdowns, according to the Associated Press.
Jordan Todman will play in the preseason opener in Gerhart’s place, the Florida Times Union notes. Gerhart isn’t the only Jaguars player that will miss the preseason opener. Receiver Mike Brown will also miss the game due to hamstring issues. Brown is the fourth Jaguars receiver to suffer an injury. Cecil Shorts, Allen Robinson, and Tandon Doss are also out due to injury.
The Jaguars open the preseason on Friday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.