Stetson star Payne may earn 1st start

JACKSONVILLE — Two months ago, linebacker Donald Payne didn’t know when his next NFL opportunity would come, after he was released from the practice squad by the Baltimore Ravens in September.

He returned home to Atlanta, worked out four days a week and kept his phone nearby at all times just in case in his agent called about a team extending him a contract offer. A month passed, no offers.

But after four of the Jaguars’ six linebackers on their two-deep depth chart sustained an injury during their Week 7 victory over Cincinnati, Payne got his long-awaited call to return to Jacksonville.

And now after playing mostly on special teams in the past four games, Payne may earn his first career start Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at middle linebacker in place of injured Myles Jack.

Jack sustained a knee injury in this past Sunday’s 42-20 loss to Tennessee. He has missed the past two practices this week but continues to receive treatment. He has started 53 consecutive games and did not miss a defensive snap last season.

“I have a big plate on my hands, but I’m ready to take advantage of it,” said Payne, a former Stetson standout safety who went undrafted in 2017. “The middle linebacker is the quarterback of the defense. We’re making calls and making checks and you have to know the formations and tell the defense what to do in every situation. It’s definitely a lot on the plate, but as a middle linebacker, you’ve got to be able to do that.”

Weak-side linebacker Najee Goode also sustained a knee injury against Tennessee and was put on the season-ending injury reserve list earlier this week. The Jaguars are also expected to be without starting safety Ronnie Harrison (concussion) and undrafted rookie Andrew Wingard is expected to earn his first start like Payne.

Since 2017, Payne has been waived twice by the Ravens and once by the Jaguars. After playing 24 games over two seasons with the Jaguars, they released him in May after he failed a physical examination following foot surgery in March. After Payne was released in September by Baltimore, he used to sit on his couch at home and watch the Jaguars and the Ravens games for about a quarter before becoming frustrated.

“I could watch it for a certain amount of time before I would get upset and cut it off,” Payne said. “I know I could play.