Jacksonville, Florida: Jaguars Defensive Tackle DaVon Hamilton Expected Out for the Season With a Torn Quad

Jacksonville Jaguars nose tackle DaVon Hamilton is expected to miss the rest of the 2026 season with a torn quadriceps muscle. NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport reported the diagnosis on Monday, citing league sources, one day after Hamilton was carted off during the Jaguars 42-7 win over the Indianapolis Colts at EverBank Stadium.

Rapoport wrote on X: "Sources: #Jaguars standout DT DaVon Hamilton suffered a torn quad in Sunday's win over the #Colts, and he's expected to be out for the season. Hamilton will undergo more tests today, but a massive hole for Jacksonville." Pro Football Talk reported the same expectation, and the Monday tests to confirm the diagnosis.

How the injury happened

Hamilton was injured during the second quarter on Sunday, November 1. Teammates surrounded him while he was down on the field, and he was taken to the locker room by cart, the Florida Times-Union reported. The team ruled him out quickly with what was then called a knee injury. The Orbit Post match report on the game recorded only the cart ride and the knee label. The torn quad diagnosis reported on Monday is new, and it ends his season if the tests confirm it.

What Jacksonville loses

Hamilton has started every game this season, and teammates and head coach Liam Coen call him the key to the team's run defense. That defense ranks first in the league. Jacksonville leads the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game at 77.4 and in yards per carry allowed at 3.39, and it has allowed just four rushing touchdowns through seven games. Hamilton is listed at 6 foot 4 and 335 pounds, and he once filled in at long snapper for a game.

Coen spoke about Hamilton after the Colts game, before the diagnosis was known. "He's out there laying down and he's reassuring me. That's who he is. He has a smile on his face, actually. He trusts God. He trusts himself. He trusts life. He's just one of those types of people. It's tough to see that, obviously. Really tough. We have to evaluate what it truly is."

The depth chart and the trade deadline

With Hamilton out, Jacksonville's interior depth falls to players including Arik Armstead and Ruke Orhorhoro. Rookie Albert Regis was inactive for the Colts game. The timing adds pressure at the trade deadline. ESPN reporter Jeremy Fowler reported Jacksonville was already looking for another interior lineman before the deadline, even before this injury, and the need is now more urgent. "The belief in league circles is Jacksonville has been looking for interior DL help at the deadline. That need only amplifies with Hamilton out," Fowler said, as quoted by Jaguars Wire.

Hamilton's season and career

Jacksonville drafted Hamilton, 29, in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft, and he has spent his entire career with the Jaguars. He has played 93 games with 68 starts, with 260 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, 22 quarterback hits and six sacks. Through seven games this season he had recorded 16 total tackles, 0.5 sack and four quarterback hits, on a snap share of about 42 percent. He is in the final season of a three year, 34.5 million dollar contract extension he signed in April 2023, and he is set to become a free agent after this season. Jacksonville's win on Sunday moved the Jaguars to 5-2, while the Colts fell to 2-6.