JACKSONVILLE – Staying ready has been the norm for Walker Little.

The veteran left tackle's current situation is a familiar one – and it's a key storyline for the AFC South-leading Jaguars as they exit their 2026 bye and enter their final 11 regular-season games.

It's also something for which Walker has prepared throughout six NFL seasons.

"I've learned a lot over my career and watched guys that have kind of been in my position as that sixth O-lineman, how they've done it, how they stay ready for the moment," Little said Monday.

Little, a second-round selection by the Jaguars in the 2021 NFL Draft, is expected to move forward as the Jaguars' starting left tackle. Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen on Monday confirmed that left tackle Anton Harrison will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury sustained Week 5 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

"We'll miss him (Harrison), without a doubt, but was extremely proud of Walker and the way that he played on Sunday against Houston and stepped up in both the run and the pass," Coen said of Little's performance starting for Harrison in a Week 6 loss to the Houston Texans.

Little has played 76 games in six NFL seasons with 40 career starts.

"It lets you refine what you need to do during practice," Little said. "It's just staying locked in, not letting things slip through the cracks even though you may not get the opportunity to play, so that when your number is called you can jump in and flow with the offense."​

Little started 15 games last season in Coen's first season as the Jaguars' head coach, with Coen saying Little "did some really good things for us" against Houston.

"No flinch, no blink, next-man-up mentality," Coen said. "Excited about him and his opportunity. There's not many guys that care more than Walker in a lot of ways about this team and about this group of guys."

Little has been in this situation before, having started for an injured Cam Robinson at left tackle late in the Jaguars' 2022 AFC South title season.

"I think I've gotten better kind of across the board, pass pro and in the run game," Little said. "But more than anything, I think just trying to be a leader on the team and a good teammate and just someone that the coaches can rely on, someone that my teammates can rely on.

"That's probably the thing that I'm most proud of my career so far and where I've grown from Year 1 to Year 6."

TWELVE'S NEXT STEPS

Jaguars wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter had the best two-way game of his NFL career in the Jaguars' loss to the Texans, with the 2025 No. 2 overall selection recording four receptions for 59 yards and a touchdown offensively and intercepting Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud in the end zone defensively. "Just keep chomping away at it," Coen said Monday of how the Jaguars will approach Hunter's snaps moving forward. "We're not going to over-rotate to a good game. There are a lot of games left in the season. We want to make sure that we're continuing to build on the right trajectory that gives us the best chance to win on Sundays. We've won a lot of games with him maybe not playing 100 snaps, and last week you saw his impact and effect on games where he is playing more. To me, it's about the team; it's about the group. He's no different, and he's going to continue to help us win on Sundays."

THE RUN GAME SMELL

The running game is a big reason the Jaguars are 4-2, with running backs Bhayshul Tuten and Chris Rodriguez Jr. each making impact plays. "I'm excited about it," Coen said. "We have to continue to make the most out of the runs we do have. Our backs have done a really nice job at, 'OK, maybe it's a run that either wasn't schemed up great or not blocked perfectly where it might look like a zero-yard gain or a negative' … they have turned those into positives. It's more some of the ones that are blocked very clean that we have bigger opportunities on that we need to continue to make the most of and get some more of those 15-, 20-yard runs. I'm not talking about 40-plus, just continuing to be able to get that. It truly takes all 11."

NOTABLE

Wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. "is going to be able to help us make plays this week, I know it," Coen said Monday. Thomas, a third-year veteran, did not play in the second half against the Texans after dropping a first-quarter pass and missing an opportunity for a reception late in the second quarter. "Every week's different," Coen said. "That's what's kind of special about this group. Every week you get new people stepping up and making plays. He's no different. We're going to continue to support him, put our arm around him and continue to do what we have to do make plays on Sundays. We have to continue to put him in the best position to do so. BT works at it. He cares about this. He cares about winning and losing. He cares about his team. I'm excited about attacking this week with BT." …