Jaguars DL Dawuane Smoot to undergo MRI after suffering apparent foot injury

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Jacksonville Jaguars defensive lineman Dawuane Smoot will undergo an MRI on Friday after suffering an apparent foot injury that the team fears is a torn Achilles in Thursday night's 19-3 victory over the New York Jets. Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said on Friday that he will have the results likely after the holiday weekend.

"I just got off the phone with Jeff Ferguson and [Smoot] is getting an MRI today," Pederson said during a teleconference. "We do know it's the foot or ankle area, possibly the Achilles but until we have the MRI results ... it will be after the weekend."

Smoot was injured on the final defensive drive of the game and was eventually carted off the field. He played 41-of-59 defensive snaps (69 percent), filling in for an injured Travon Walker, who missed the game due to an ankle injury suffered against the Tennessee Titans in Week 14.

Smoot, a six-year veteran, is in the final year of his contract with Jacksonville after being selected in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft, finishes his season with five sacks, tied for the team-high total with outside linebacker Josh Allen. He had 14 solo tackles and 12 quarterback hits.

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After the team's win last week, Jaguars defensive lineman Arden Key was asked about Smoot's injury, hoping that it wasn't as serious as it looked. Key and Smoot sit next to each other in the Jaguars' locker room.

"I hated that," Key said of Smoot going down. "He went down, and even on that play when he went down, I stopped playing. The play was still going on, I stopped playing. We hope it's not as serious as it looked. If it is, the focus has to be extra. The details got to be extra, on point."

Jacksonville has suffered numerous injuries to its defensive line in recent weeks. They played without two starters, Walker and defensive lineman Foley Fatukasi against the Jets. Key said the team has a next-man-up mentality.

"Hopefully, we can get Travon back next week to fill in a little bit of that void with losing Smoot [if that's the case]," Key added. "But, we got to be more on detail, more focused as far as the pass-rush group because we're starting to get injuries and it's starting not to look like the pass-rush group that we were earlier in the year."

Pederson indicated on Friday that the team believes both Walker and Fatukasi have a "good chance" of making it back for next week's game.

Right guard Brandon Scherff suffered an ankle injury, but missed just one play against the Jets on Thursday. Pederson indicated that he, along with right tackle Jawaan Taylor (hamstring), will be fine with rest and treatment.

Pederson non-commital on resting starters against Houston

If the Titans were to lose to the Texans over the weekend, the Jaguars' Week 17 matchup against Houston would essentially be meaningless from a playoff-seeding perspective. Jacksonville would be in a win-and-you're-in fight for the AFC South against the Titans in Week 18.

With injuries piling up now, Pederson was asked if the team would rest starters, potentially getting healthier before the most important game of the season.

"I'd have to wait and see where we were and where those players are during the course of the week to be able to make that decision," said Pederson.

"We have an opportunity to have nine wins. Obviously, it's a big task for us. We'll make those decisions as we go. We're focused on getting healthy over the holiday weekend. It's great for us to sit back, enjoy and watch these games."

Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on Twitter at @Demetrius82.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars DL Dawuane Smoot set to undergo MRI after suffering foot injury