Jaguars star RB Leonard Fournette will miss the team’s Week 7 matchup against the Colts this afternoon due to an ankle injury, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Chris Ivory will get the nod in Fournette’s absence.
Fournette, whom the Jaguars selected with the fourth overall pick of this year’s draft, has not disappointed in his rookie campaign. As the focal point of the team’s offense (and opposing teams’ game plans), the LSU product is averaging a shade under 100 yards per game on the ground, to go along with a 4.6 YPC average. He has rumbled for six touchdowns on the ground and has added a receiving touchdown as well (he is averaging 22.7 yards per game through the air).
The Jaguars have looked like perhaps the best team in football some weeks and the worst in others, but they are still tied for first place in the wide open AFC South, and Fournette is arguably the biggest reason for their status as legitimate division title contenders.
Christ Mortensen of ESPN.com tweets that Fournette was pushing to play today, but team doctors did not feel comfortable with that after examining Fournette this morning. Jacksonville does have a bye next week, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) suggests Fournette will be ready to go in Week 9.