JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars got some important injury news Friday.
The Jaguars were without starting safety Eric Murray a week ago, but the veteran leader of the safety room is now set to return for an important Week 6 battle vs. the Houston Texans after clearing concussion protocol and returning to full participation practice on Friday.
After missing last week with a concussion, Murray was limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday before officially clearing the concussion protocol Friday. This means he will return as the starting safety next to Antonio Johnsonagainst the Texans in a pivotal AFC South clash in Week 6, a spot that was occupied by Rayuan Lane last week.
Murray has been one of the Jaguars’ top starters at safety since he was signed in free agency last year, and the former Texans safety has made a consideable impact on the defense since joining it. With the injury to Caleb Ransaw in Week 4, Murray’s void was certainly felt last week, and would have been felt this week too had he not recovered.
“Eric means a lot to us. Eric is one of the guys you would kind of put him in a classification of he’s a coach on the field,” Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile said last week.
“He’s just really good communicator, knows the ins and outs of the defense and can kind of see problems before they start on the field. He’s been great that way all the way through, the entire season last season, the beginning of this season. He’s been a big part of our success.”
With that said, the Jaguars will be missing some bodies in the secondary. Cornerback Montaric Brown has been ruled out for the second time in three weeks with a hamstring injury after he left last week’s game against the Eagles after just six snaps on defense. Brown’s injury at the cornerback spot across from Trabis Hunter means the Jaguars are down a talented and reliable cornerback, and also means the Jaguars are unlikely to have a cornerback rotation like they did during the first three weeks of the season.
Brown has struggled at times in 2026 due to his injury, but the Jaguars would likely much prefer to have their full depth chart at their disposal considering the success CJ Stroud has found this season. Stroud has yet to throw an interception this season, and the Jaguars will have to be at their best to ensure they can change that.
“I think that C.J.’s done a nice job of taking care of the football and that’s just something that you just got to be aware of going into it. It’s impacting him pre-snap, post-snap, being able to change the picture; it takes all 11 to be able to do that,” Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said on Friday. “We have to be more disciplined with our eyes in general as a defense and as a secondary. So, it’s definitely not the week to start being greedy and saying, ‘man, I’m going to be the one to get one,’ because we’re trying to be more disciplined with our eyes, especially in some of our man-match coverages.”
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