JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Trevor Lawrence will likely miss the second start of his NFL career on Sunday with a shoulder injury.
Head coach Doug Pederson said on Friday morning that Lawrence was “trending” in the direction of not playing due to a shoulder injury suffered in his left (nonthrowing) shoulder. Mac Jones will start if Lawrence is ultimately unable to play.
“Obviously, we’ve got one more day today. He’s been very limited all week,” Pederson said. “It is trending, obviously, in a way that’s probably to not playing or leaning towards not playing. But we’ll see today where he’s at. He felt good today and Mac’s ready to go if need be.”
A report posted on NFL.com early in the morning hours Friday and has since been removed, reported that Lawrence would not play against the Vikings. Lawrence’s shoulder injury calls into question his availability for the rest of what has been a difficult season for the Jaguars.
In Lawrence’s absence, Jones would make his first start for his hometown team. Jones, who played at Bolles, was acquired in a trade with the Patriots in the offseason and will make his first start against the Vikings (6-2) at EverBank Stadium.
“I don’t want him to be Trevor. So, we’re not going to give him Trevor-type plays, but we’re going to give him Mac-type plays, and we want Mac to run the offense,” Pederson said. “We’ve got enough variety that we can tailor it to him or C.J. [QB C.J. Beathard] or Trevor or whoever’s playing. But this is what I appreciate about all our quarterbacks and this week — if it is Mac — just his communication with us, right? What he likes, doesn’t like and his comfort level.”
Jones, a first-round pick in 2021 in the same draft as Lawrence, has played in mop-up duty this year. He’s 6 of 9 passing for 28 yards in blowout losses against the Bears and Bills. Jones was 18-24 in three seasons with New England and completed 66.1% of his passes (45 TDs, 36 INTs).
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The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Thursday that Lawrence was weighing options for the future regarding his shoulder injury. The Jaguars are 2-7 and have less than a 5% chance of reaching the playoffs. Lawrence signed a five-year, $275 million contract extension last June that ties him to the Jaguars through 2030.
The Jaguars went 4-13 in Lawrence’s rookie season, a disaster all around during the brief tenure of Urban Meyer. Under Pederson in 2022, Lawrence figured things out and was one of the best quarterbacks in the league in the second half of that year. That included a torrid finish to win the AFC South title and one of the biggest comebacks in playoff history in a 31-30 win over the Chargers.
But Lawrence was uneven in 2023 and struggled through inconsistencies in the first four games this season before somewhat turning things around to win two of his next five starts. Lawrence has passed 2,004 yards and 11 touchdowns (six interceptions) this season. Jacksonville has lost five games this season by five points or less.
Lawrence suffered the injury to his left (nonthrowing) shoulder during a Week 9 loss to Eagles. He stayed in and finished the game, a 28-23 loss. Lawrence has been limited in practice this week. The Jaguars added some insurance when they signed former backup CJ Beathard to the practice squad on Wednesday.