Jordan Burch injury: Major update emerges on Oregon EDGE vs. Illinois

Oregon EDGE Jordan Burch will miss Saturday afternoon’s game against Illinois, according to the official injury report. He suffered an injury in practice earlier this month and will not be able to go in the Top-20 matchup at Autzen Stadium.

Burch was warming up for the game against Ohio State when he went down with the injury. He then couldn’t suit up against Purdue on a short week, and it appears he won’t be on the field Saturday when Oregon takes on No. 20 Illinois.

When asked about the status of Burch and other injured Oregon players earlier this week, Dan Lanning said the program would take a wait-and-see approach. As a result, their statuses for Saturday were up in the air.

“We’ll wait as the season goes and how the week goes to see where those guys are at and if they’ll be available for us this weekend,” Lanning said.

Jordan Burch is in his second season at Oregon after transferring from South Carolina. He was having a big year prior to his injury, totaling 19 tackles – including seven tackles for loss and five sacks – in five games this season. That came after an impressive 2023 campaign in which he had 34 tackles, eight TFLs and three sacks as a key piece of the Ducks defense.

After Oregon’s last-second win over Ohio State, Lanning spoke about how much Burch means to the Ducks. He also said other players will need to step up to replace his production, and others did against the Buckeyes.

“Jordan is certainly a loss for us,” Lanning said. “You don’t replace a Jordan. He’s been unbelievable this season. But in football, it’s about the next man up. And I know Jordan’s probably sitting at home just as proud of these guys being able to do next-man-up mentality.

“We thought there might be a chance that we would be able to see him out there. We weren’t able to see him out there, but we always want to protect our players first. You talk about the year that young man’s having, I hurt for him because I know how much he wanted to be a part of this moment. But, you talk about next man up, and some guys showed up tonight.”