JACKSONVILLE – He wants to reach four figures.
"It's a pretty big accomplishment," Jaguars wide receiver D.J. Chark Jr. said.
That's without question a goal for Chark and any NFL receiver, but reaching 1,000 yards receiving for the season for the first time – ever – isn't the only reason the second-year veteran will be motivated Sunday.
There's also the idea of continuing to learn to play through pain.
Chark, a second-round selection in the 2018 NFL Draft, will enter Sunday's regular-season finale against the Indianapolis Colts at TIAA Bank Field needing 26 yards to reach 1,000 for the first time in his career – high school, college or the NFL.
"At first, it was [important] for me, but now at this point it's really for my family – just seeing how far it's come from last year," Chark said. "I've never been a position to get 1,000 yards, so being in position now is pretty cool.
"It's definitely a motivating factor. Anytime I can be out on the field, I want to be out there."
Chark, after catching 14 passes for 174 yards as a rookie, emerged as the Jaguars' top receiving threat this season. He caught eight touchdown passes in the first 10 games of the season, before the offense began struggling in the final half of the season.
"I can't say enough great things about DJ," Jaguars offensive coordinator John DeFilippo said, adding of the 1,000-yard mark, "Obviously, it would be great. That would be the benchmark for receivers, is obviously that 1,000 yards. We're not oblivious to that all."
Chark's progress slowed in recent weeks in large part because of an ankle injury sustained in a Week 14 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. He caught nine passes for 75 yards in that game but missed a victory the following week at Oakland before playing through the injury and catching two passes for 14 yards against the Atlanta Falcons this past Sunday.
"I know I'm not 100 percent, but this for me is a learning experience," Chark said. "If let's say in the future if I get hurt – hopefully, I don't – but learning to play with it … it's all just teaching and learning as I go along."
Also around the Jaguars Thursday:
*DeFilippo discussed the team's season-long difficulty finding production at tight end. The Jaguars lost starter James O'Shaughnessy to a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injury in Week 5, rookie third-round selection Josh Oliver played just four games because of injuries and veteran Geoff Swaim played just six games because of injuries. Jaguars tight ends this season have caught 51 passes for 450 yards and three touchdowns, with O'Shaughnessy catching 17 passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns in the first five games of the season. "James was having a really good year for us when he went down; he was on pace for one of his better seasons," DeFilippo said. "I think anytime you have a revolving door at any position I think it makes it hard, and we're young there. We don't have a lot of experience there, but I think the experience that the guys earned this season will only help them going into next year." …
*Running back Leonard Fournette missed practice for the first time this season, appearing on the injury report with a neck injury. He had been listed as limited on Wednesday's report. Fournette's durability this season has been notable after he missed nine of 32 regular-season games in his first two NFL seasons because of injuries. "That something I put on my list [of goals] – just staying healthy the whole season," Fournette said Thursday. "I wanted to try to manage my body and just be better than the last two years I played. It wasn't just me. It was the guys I worked out with in Wyoming [in the 2019 offseason] and it was God. All of the little things I did kind of played a big part in me having a successful season this year." Fournette through 15 games has rushed for a career-high 1,152 yards with three touchdowns on 265 carries. …
*Wide receiver Dede Westbrook practiced full for a second consecutive day with the neck/shoulder injury he has played through for much of the season. The following 10 Jaguars players worked limited for a second consecutive day: quarterback Gardner Minshew II (right shoulder), Chark, cornerback A.J. Bouye (wrist), cornerback D.J. Hayden (knee), defensive end Josh Allen (shoulder), linebacker Dakota Allen (hamstring), left tackle Cam Robinson (knee), tight end Nick O'Leary (shoulder), defensive tackle Taven Bryan (wrist) and defensive tackle Abry Jones (elbow). …
*Defensive end Calais Campbell (back/shoulder) and center Brandon Linder (knee) both returned to practice on a limited basis after missing practice Tuesday – as is the norm for the two veterans. Wide receiver Michael Walker missed a second practice this week with a hamstring injury sustained at Atlanta.
