Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Julius Thomas is getting closer to a return.
On Wednesday, Thomas was able to practice without a cast on his hand for the first time and he was cleared to start catching passes during individual drills, ESPN’s Mike DiRocco reports.
Even though Thomas was cleared to catch passes in practice, he hasn’t been cleared to play in Sunday’s game versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Thomas injured his hand on August 14 during the Jaguars preseason opener and had surgery the following month on September 1.
When asked if playing the Buccaneers was a possibility, Thomas said: “I don’t know. I’m still limited. I’m definitely not going to be able to do all the things I want to do. I don’t know if playing is going to be an option yet.”
The chances that Thomas suits up on Sunday are highly unlikely. His best chance to play will come in week six against the Houston Texans. Whether he plays a week from Sunday or not will depend on what the Jaguars medical team recommends.
“I’m really going to lean on those guys and follow their plan so hopefully nothing else happens,” he said.
When Thomas does get back on the field, he plans to wear some sort of protective gear to protect his hand.
“I don’t really know how it’s going to feel yet,” he said. “It will be a good day to go out there, do a little more than I have been doing and see if I can get a good feel for it.”
Thomas started participating in individual drills last week even though it only consisted of running routes. Thomas said he was “definitely excited” about getting back into team work.
“That went really well, ” he said. “On a side field, you can run all the routes you want, but it’s not the same feeling as getting to participate with the guys.”
After spending his first four years in the NFL with the Denver Broncos, Thomas signed a five-year, $46-million deal with the Jaguars.
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