The cause for concern grows in Jacksonville.
Star quarterback Trevor Lawrence suffered an injury to his non-throwing shoulder in Week 9 and is now unlikely to play on Sunday, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports.
As the Jaguars season spirals further, Rapoport wrote on Thursday that Lawrence is “continu[ing] to get treatment and weigh[ing] options for the future.”
In a second post, just minutes later, the insider confirmed Lawrence was “consider[ing] several options, [both] immediate and down-the-road” and denied that surgery had already been decided on.
However, in all likelihood, surgery could still be an option if he opts not to play through the injury in increasingly meaningless games for the 2-7 Jaguars.
The former No. 1 overall selection was sturdy and dependable early in his career, playing in every single regular season contest during his first two seasons in the league.
Even when injuries began cropping up last season — a knee injury in Week 6, a high-ankle sprain in Week 14 and a concussion in Week 15 — Lawrence suited up for all but one game.
While it’s not clear how serious the shoulder injury Lawrence sustained last Sunday against the Eagles is, the fact that surgery is under consideration is telling.
As is the Jaguars’ acquisition of quarterback C.J. Beathard.
The 30-year-old out of Iowa served as Lawrence’s backup from 2021 to 2023 but was released ahead of the 2024 season.
Beathard had a very brief stint on the Miami Dolphins’ practice squad ahead of Week 8 before the Jaguars signed him to their 53-man roster on Wednesday.
“Trevor’s sore, and it gives us insurance,” Head Coach Doug Pederson said of the signing. “Now we have another veteran quarterback on the roster.”
Beathard is expected to back up the Jaguars’ second-string quarterback, Mac Jones, when the Jaguars host the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday at 1 p.m. EST.
