JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Doug Pederson and the Jaguars are still considering their options on the future of injured Trevor Lawrence after a violent hit caused the second concussion in less than a year for the franchise quarterback.
Pederson said that since Lawrence remained in the concussion protocol he can’t look at his availability. Lawrence missed the previous two games with an injury to his left shoulder. Pederson said the hit by Houston linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair didn’t worsen Lawrence’s existing shoulder injury.
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“I mean, you’ve got to take it all into consideration, obviously, and you know, make a smart choice,” Pederson said about Lawrence’s availability for the rest of the season. “Make a headsy sort of determination with him and his health and then obviously, where we are as a team right now.”
Jacksonville has less than a 1% chance of making the playoffs and could be eliminated officially as early as Monday night. That makes the question of shutting Lawrence down to let him properly heal a valid question for the franchise. Backup Mac Jones would likely be the starter for the remaining five games if Lawrence is ruled out.
Lawrence signed a $275 million contract extension in the offseason, and that new deal has yet to even begin. He’s been banged up substantially the last two seasons, including missing his first NFL game late last year due to a right shoulder injury.
Jacksonville is just 3-15 over its last 18 games.
Lawrence was injured in the second quarter on a dirty hit from Al-Shaair in Sunday’s 23-20 loss to the Texans that dropped them to 2-10 on the season. He is currently in the concussion protocol and would need to clear the five-step return-to-participation procedures before being permitted to return.
Lawrence was rusty in his return from a shoulder injury, going 4 of 10 passing for 41 yards and an interception, but that was an afterthought following a scary hit that knocked him out of the game with a concussion.
It’s the second head injury Lawrence has suffered in less than a year. He went into the concussion protocol following a loss to the Ravens on Dec. 17, 2023. Lawrence’s head injury against Baltimore on “Sunday Night Football” wasn’t nearly as bad. Pederson revealed that in passing in his postgame press conference and Lawrence stayed in to finish the Ravens game. Sunday’s injury against Houston was as bad as it gets.
Late in the second quarter, Lawrence ripped off a 6-yard run to the Texans side of the field when the whole tone of the game changed. Lawrence pulled up to slide but Al-Shaair went low and drilled a sliding Lawrence.
Al-Shaair didn’t hit Lawrence in the head, he hit him with his forearms. But the The quarterback’s arms appeared to freeze up as his head slammed into the grass. Tight end Evan Engram immediately went after Al-Shaair, touching off a melee that took several minutes to defuse. Al-Shaair and Jaguars rookie cornerback Jarrian Jones were both ejected. The NFL will almost certainly dole out multiple fines for the incident.
Al-Shaair posted an apology to Lawrence on social media site X on Monday morning. Houston head coach DeMeco Ryans said on Monday that the Jaguars overreacted to the hit on Lawrence.
“The entire thing is Azeez hits the guy, but their sideline overreacts and it turns into a melee,” Ryans said. “It wasn’t our guys. Their team overreacted, pushed our guy, dragging our guy to the sideline, so that’s uncalled for on that side. We have to be better on the sideline.”