Walker Little gets the left tackle job back for the Jacksonville Jaguars, though not the way he wanted. With Anton Harrison on injured reserve after hurting his knee in Sunday’s 19-17 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, the sixth-year veteran will make his first start of the season Sunday against the Houston Texans at Wembley Stadium.
“Always excited to play, always excited to start; it’s the NFL and that never goes away,” Little said Wednesday after practice at The Grove in Watford, where the 4-1 Jaguars are based for their two-game stay in England. Kickoff against Houston is Sunday, October 18, at 9:30 a.m. EDT, 2:30 p.m. in London.
Coen: “Next-man-up mentality”
Head coach Liam Coen confirmed Little will start at left tackle, with Cole Van Lanen staying at right tackle, where he has started all five games this season after finishing last year on the left side. “Anytime you lose a player for a game, it’s always a challenge,” Coen said. “I have a lot of confidence in Walker and Cole to go in there.”
He pointed out that both linemen know this opponent well. “These guys have played these guys so many times and have had success against them,” Coen said. “They know what they’re in for in terms of the battle. Next-man-up mentality.”
Little, a 2021 second-round pick, has 31 career starts at left tackle and has also played right tackle and guard for Jacksonville. Coen said he handled the job well after Harrison went down against the Eagles. “He did a nice job. He’s long and did some really good things in the run game,” Coen said, before stressing that protecting Trevor Lawrence is not a two-man job. “It takes all 11 and not just those tackles. It’s having a play in the chip game. It’s having decision, timing, accuracy. It’s getting the ball out. It’s having a plan. It takes a village.”
A hard draw in Anderson and Hunter
The timing is rough. Houston’s Will Anderson Jr. leads the NFL with 7.5 sacks through five weeks, and Danielle Hunter lines up on the other side. Little did not play it down. “This week particularly is a hard challenge with the edge rushers the Texans have,” he said. “They have a great defense. It’s always going to be hard. Hopefully, I can draw on my experience just to be a little more comfortable than maybe some.”
Sunday will also be his first start next to rookie left guard Emmanuel Pregnon, a third-round pick who has started every game this season. Little said the two have been getting extra work together. “This week has been a big week for us getting on the same page,” he said. “It’s really just communication so that we know what to expect from each other.”
Lawrence: “I don’t have any hesitations about him”
Lawrence said Little had a strong practice Wednesday and made clear the blind side is in familiar hands. “It’s really nice having a guy that’s played a lot and that I’ve played a lot with,” Lawrence said. “That position, I’ve seen just over my career how important that is. Unfortunately, Ton’s going to be out. It happens in this league.”
“Walker has shown that he can do that,” Lawrence added. “I have played a lot of football with him. I trust him. I don’t have any hesitations about him.”
Harrison’s next step
Harrison will have a procedure on the knee once the team returns to Jacksonville, after giving the swelling time to go down. Coen said there will be no firm timeline until then. “We’ll figure it out when we get back,” he said. “We won’t have any new news on what it could look like until we get in there. We’ll just take it day by day.”
Sunday’s game closes the 2026 London slate and is the Jaguars’ first AFC South matchup of the season.
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