Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s left knee injury created some concern about his availability for Thursday night, but Lawrence said he was optimistic about playing a couple of days ago and his head coach is feeling the same way.

Doug Pederson told Ed Werder of ESPN that he expects Lawrence to play against the Saints. The last hurdle will come during the pregame warmup, but a lack of issues there would leave Lawrence on track to play.

Lawrence wore a brace in practice and said that he will likely wear it in the game as well so he has extra protection against any other knee issues.

Lawrence has never missed a game since the Jaguars made him the first overall pick of the 2021 draft and it looks like his consecutive starts streak will hit 43 games, including the playoffs, on Thursday night.