Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence has never missed a game since getting drafted by the team in 2021. The only time he sat out at Clemson was when a positive COVID-19 test cost him two games.
Being available Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers may be a long shot, though.
Shortly after a 23-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Lawrence landed in the NFL’s concussion protocol after self-reporting symptoms. One day later, Jaguars coach Doug Pederson didn’t have any answers about Lawrence’s potential availability in Week 16.
“I’m not at liberty to speculate with head injuries, so I can’t say one way or the other,” Pederson said Monday.
When exactly the injury occurred is also a bit of a mystery. Pederson believes it happened late in the fourth quarter when Lawrence scrambled and collided with Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith.
Doug Pederson said he wasn't 100% sure, but he thought the play that landed Lawrence in the protocol was his late scramble.
Here is the play in question: pic.twitter.com/rsjwo6bdzZ
— John Shipley (@_John_Shipley) December 18, 2023
But late in the third quarter, Lawrence’s head bounced off the grass on a play that was ruled intentional grounding.
Trevor Lawrence hits his head on the ground here on this intentional grounding. pic.twitter.com/bSWqaxfh2w
— Tanner Phifer (@TannerPhiferNFL) December 18, 2023
“I don’t know, I really don’t know,” Pederson said. “He was fine throughout the whole game. … I think it was the last one that he got hit on potentially. It’s hard to say, but he continued to play the rest of the game and then he self-disclosed after the game to our doctors and our trainers.”
To play Sunday against the Buccaneers, Lawrence would need to be cleared by an independent neurological consultant. If he can’t play, backup C.J. Beathard would be in line to make his first start since the 2020 season when he was with the San Francisco 49ers.
