Trevor Lawrence Remains Day to Day as the Jaguars Prepare for the Panthers in Week 17
JACKSONVILLE – The improvement continues.
So does the Right Shoulder Watch, with Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence on Thursday practicing on a limited basis – and with his status for Sunday therefore remaining uncertain.
“It’s still kind of day to day,” Head Coach Doug Pederson said Thursday.
Lawrence, who has started 49 consecutive games since the Jaguars selected him No. 1 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, has missed practice the last two days. He sustained a sprained right AC joint in his throwing – right – shoulder in a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past Sunday.
“He’s getting better,” Pederson said. “He’s getting stronger in the shoulder.”
Lawrence three times this season has played the following week after leaving the previous game with an injury. He did so in a Week 7 victory over the New Orleans Saints (knee), a Week 14 loss to the Cleveland Browns (ankle) and this past Sunday against the Buccaneers (concussion).
He was limited in or missed practices in those weeks, with Pederson saying the nature of the shoulder injury affects this week’s practice approach with Lawrence.
“If it were a defensive guy, you can harness [the shoulder] and kind of keep things nice and tight – and he can still practice as long as you don’t bang him around,” Pederson said. “The quarterback, you’re handing the ball off with that right arm. You’re throwing with the right arm. You’re stressing the shoulder a little bit more.
“Those are all things you have to be careful of and it’s really a tolerance thing more than anything, but you still want to be careful every day you’re out there.”
C.J. Beathard will start at quarterback if Lawrence can’t play. He is 2-10 as a starter in seven NFL seasons with all 12 starts coming with the San Francisco 49ers from 2017-2020.
“Trevor’s been banged up for the last several weeks,” Beathard said Wednesday. “I’ve been able to get some reps with those guys throughout practice throughout the last several weeks, and it has been good. We’ll just build on that for sure.”
Beathard has completed 23 of 29 passes this season for 171 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. He has played extensively while replacing an injured Lawrence in two losses – Week 13 against Cincinnati and last week against the Buccaneers. He completed 11 of 15 passes for 94 yards and one touchdown in the latter game.
“I think you have to consider where we are in the season, what we have moving forward,” Pederson said. “The biggest thing – and we’ve talked about this, too – is you don’t want to risk further injury. That’s the big thing. If Trevor plays we’re, we’re all in on that. If CJ plays, we’re all in on that. The one thing about CJ is in Trevor’s absence during the week, it’s valuable that CJ has taken all the reps and he has prepared that way. He’s ready to go at a moment’s notice.
“He stepped in last week and did a nice job for us at the end of that game. It’s a tough decision, but sometimes I have to make those decisions based on Trevor’s health and where we are as a team.”
