Michael DiRocco, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Your guide to figuring out Jags' secondary

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- It's getting to the point where you need a spreadsheet to figure out what's going on in the Jacksonville Jaguars secondary.

Let's start with the easiest things to figure out: Cornerback Alan Ball was placed on injured reserve on Wednesday with a biceps injury and nickelback Will Blackmon will miss at least three weeks with a broken left index finger, which he had surgically repaired on Tuesday.

After that ... well, it will take a while. Here goes:

Cornerback Dwayne Gratz was limited in practice on Wednesday with a groin injury. That's separate from the hip flexor injury that nearly kept him out of last Sunday's game against Miami. If he's healthy, he'll likely start at right cornerback (replacing Ball) against Cincinnati on Sunday. If not, his likely replacement is Jeremy Harris, one of the team's two seventh-round picks in 2013. Harris played a career-high 10 snaps on defense and on special teams in last Sunday's loss to Miami.

The starter at left cornerback will be Demetrius McCray, the Jaguars' other seventh-round draft pick in 2013. McCray was inserted into the lineup after Gratz suffered a concussion against San Diego on Sept. 28. He started the following week when Gratz was out and held on to the job when Gratz returned.

With Blackmon out, the Jaguars will use safety Sherrod Martin as the nickelback. He spent 2009-12 with Carolina before signing with Jacksonville last December. He was waived in final cuts but re-signed on Sept. 23. He has played mainly on special teams in the last five games.

The Jaguars promoted cornerback Peyton Thompson from the practice squad last Saturday as insurance in case Gratz couldn't play against the Dolphins.

While there is a rash if injuries at corner, the safeties remain healthy. Second-year players Johnathan Cyprien and Josh Evans will start against the Bengals. Undrafted rookie Craig Loston would be next up in the rotation with Martin working at nickel back.

Got all that? All cleared up? Good, but don't get too comfortable -- things could change quickly.

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