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Trevor Lawrence was something of an ironman to open his career. But the injury bug is starting to bite.
The Jacksonville Jaguars’ quarterback is reportedly “unlikely” to play this week against the Minnesota Vikings as he deals with a shoulder injury, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Rapoport noted Lawrence “continues to get treatment and weigh options for the future.” Rapoport also said Lawrence does not have surgery scheduled, but that it is one of the options the quarterback is considering.
Lawrence, 25, suffered a number of injuries in the 2023 season but continued to play, battling through a knee injury suffered in Week 6, a high-ankle sprain sustained in Week 14 and a concussion in Week 15. Each of those injuries cost him practice time, but none kept him out the following week.
That kept his ironman streak intact until he suffered a sprained right AC joint in Week 16, finally forcing him to miss the first game of his career the following week. He had made 49 consecutive starts before finally being unable to go late in the season.
“It’s a tough, violent sport,” head coach Doug Pederson told reporters in late December after the AC joint injury. “Injuries are going to happen, especially to the quarterback position. All the injuries that he has sustained are all hits, all contact stuff. It’s part of it. That’s his style and that’s his aggressiveness.”
When healthy, however, Lawrence didn’t take the leap in year three that was expected from 2021’s top overall pick.
In total, he threw for 4,016 yards, 21 touchdowns and 14 interceptions while taking 35 sacks and completing 65.6 percent of his passes. Every single one of those marks was worse than what he compiled in 2022 (4,113 yards, 25 touchdowns, eight interceptions, 27 sacks taken, 66.3 completion percentage).
In turn, the Jaguars went from looking like a true contender in the AFC after an 8-3 start to a four-game losing streak—and a 1-5 close to the season in total—that extinguished their postseason hopes.
The Jaguars clearly remain confident in Lawrence for the foreseeable future, however, inking him to a massive five-year, $275 million extension this offseason. It was a major commitment for a player who has yet to prove he can be one of the elite quarterbacks in football.
His recent injury issues will also be a concern. If he’s forced to miss additional time, Mac Jones will step into the starting gig.
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