JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette has been sidelined for the first two practices of Week 2 with a minor hamstring injury suffered during the team's season-opening win over the New York Giants. Still, last year's first-round pick remains optimistic about his playing status for Sunday's clash against the New England Patriots.
"My main focus is to straighten [the hamstring] back up," Fournette said Thursday. "Get the swelling [down] that's in there and come out on Sunday and play."
Fournette left last week's win over the Giants in the second quarter. The running back said he felt his right hamstring "pop" before being hit on his last play of the game.
While Fournette has missed practice, he has still been able to work off to the side during this week's sessions. He started running again on Thursday and felt good as he worked on improving his burst.
"[The hamstring] feels good," Fournette said. "It's progress. Just keep going on and on and on. I'm doing treatment and things like that, so we'll see, it'll be a big game-time decision."
Both Fournette and Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone have acknowledged that the running back could play even without practice this week. The player feels that he knows his body well and he will determine his availability when the time comes to make a decision.
If Fournette is unable to play against New England, the Jaguars will rely on backup T.J. Yeldon, who had a strong game against New York. Fournette feels he and Yeldon have similar skill sets.
"When I went down last Sunday, we didn't miss a heartbeat," Fournette said. "It might have been ugly but we got the job done and got the 'W.' As far as a drop [off] ... I don't feel like there's a drop off at all."
The Jaguars wills host the New England Patriots on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. at TIAA Bank Field.
Follow Mike Kaye on Twitter: @Mike_E_Kaye.