Jamal Roberts injury update: Mizzou RB heads to injury tent vs. Virginia

Missouri has a ton of offensive firepower out there on Saturday night in the Gator Bowl. That includes both star running backs, Ahmad Hardy and Jamal Roberts. Unfortunately, the Tigers are out there in the second quarter without the second part of the one-two punch.

Roberts came up limping after getting a carry, visibly looking hurt. Not too long after, the ESPN broadcast showed the Missouri medical tent propped up. Sideline reporter Kris Budden went on to report Roberts was inside of it, dealing with a leg injury.

“You’ll notice that Jamal Roberts came off limping,” Budden said. “He has gone into the injury tent and they are looking at his right lower leg.”

This is the third season Roberts has been at Missouri, finally getting his breakout season. He has recorded 697 yards and five touchdowns on 113 carries in 12 games. Some quality numbers come out of the backfield too, considering there are only 17 catches on the stat sheet, going for 139 yards and a score.

But now, there is an injury to worry about moving forward. Running back depth is not the biggest worry in the world for Mizzou, especially with Hardy still playing in the game. However, Roberts is such a great secondary option. His presence and rotation would go a long way in securing a Gator Bowl victory.

Future of Jamal Roberts in question, Eli Drinkwitz calls for NIL help

To this point, Roberts has not announced exactly what his future holds. Eligibility remains for him, meaning a return to Missouri is certainly possible. However, head coach Eli Drinkwitz recently spoke about the difficult situation the Tigers currently find themselves in.

Drinkwitz has been quite open about the modern aspects of college football. One of those is Roberts potentially looking at taking less money to remain with Mizzou compared to other spots.

“That’s the reality of it,” Drinkwitz said on Dec. 16. “And we’re asking him to commit to a new way and do something different. But that’s a really tough decision that is not easy. And, you know, that’s not the only person… If anybody in St. Louis has third-party NIL that they’d like to donate or work through to keep Jamal Roberts around, we’d love to talk to you about it. Because he’s a heck of a player. And we’d love nothing more than to have him be a Tiger for his career.”