The Wisconsin Badgers are getting closer and closer to the kickoff of the 2026 season. One of the steps to getting there was taking a team photo. Luke Fickell perched in the middle with his team and coaches all surrounding him. It's a team that is bigger than it's ever been under his leadership, and hopefully a team that puts together more wins too. However, astute fans always notice things in these photos; one of those big ones was the injury to Jaylon Domingeaux.
The transfer wide receiver who is projected to have a big role this season for the Badgers was sporting what looked to be a cast wrapped in an ace bandage. It was clearly protecting fingers, as only the thumb seemed to be exposed. This clears up some of the injury concern many have had, as he hasn't been as involved in practices, and yet it also adds some more questions to the pile.
The reason we didn’t have Jaylon Domingeaux in the 2-deep right now. Hard to catch with that on. https://t.co/QbaqB22u69 pic.twitter.com/LVv2Hu0M0P
— Zach Heilprin (@ZachHeilprin) August 25, 2026
Jaylon Domingeaux is wearing a cast in the latest team picture and it puts Week 1 in doubt
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No. 4 Notre Dame is looming on September 6th, and the Badgers are hoping to have as many of their weapons available to kick off the season. While Domingeaux was in a battle for one of the starting boundary receiver spots, he now may not be able to play Week 1 at all.
It's hard to know the severity of the injury; it's been pretty under wraps by Luke Fickell and his team. They haven't mentioned it or talked about it publicly, and thus, an optimistic person would think that it is a precautionary thing and that Domingeaux will be fine in a matter of days rather than weeks.
The pessimistic person would see that big ol' bandage and say, "Ain't no way, he's out there Week 1." And maybe the reality is somewhere between the two thoughts. Either way, it does clear up why he hasn't been practicing in the same capacity, and it also does showcase why other players like Shamar Rigby and Kash Brock have been getting more reps with the ones.
It truly is hard to know based on a photo how severe things are. Especially because some of the guady-looking treatments are often used to expedite things rather than as a sign of a long-term problem.. Either way, Week 1 is in doubt.
That means that the receiver corps will need to rely on Eugene Hilton Jr., Tyrell Henry, Chris Brooks Jr., and Shamar Rigby as the main group to help Colton Joseph out. This is not a bad group to rely on, and all of them have been showcasing extreme play-making ability. If there was a room to have a fall camp injury, wide receiver was one of the rooms that the Badgers truly seemed they could afford a loss.
As of now, there are more questions than answers, and it will be important to see if Fickell addresses it. Or maybe parking him on the side of a photo with his cast sticking out was how he addressed it.
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