Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence suffered a left knee injury in the 37-20 victory over the Indianapolis Colts this past Sunday. After some questions regarding his status, the Jaguars have officially made the third-year signal-caller active for their Week 7 matchup against the Saints.
This comes after head coach Doug Pederson told ESPN earlier on Thursday that he expected Lawrence to play depending on his pregame workout. That pregame evaluation seems to have gone smoothly, and Lawrence will now look to push his team to 5-2 on the year.
Lawrence was listed as a limited participant in practice on Tuesday and Wednesday and was officially listed as questionable for Thursday. The quarterback previously told reporters that he was “optimistic” he will play this week, via ESPN. “But of course we’ll have to make that decision on Thursday,” Lawrence said.
“I’m going to do everything I can to be out there. I feel a lot better today than I would have thought so I like how I’m progressing,” Lawrence added Tuesday.
Lawrence was injured on a sack late in the fourth quarter, and backup quarterback C.J. Beathard replaced him to kneel out the clock. Pederson had described his quarterback as being “day-to-day” and his status was particularly uncertain due to Jacksonville playing on a short week.
Pederson pointed to last year, where Lawrence was injured vs. the Detroit Lions, and was a limited participant in the next week’s practice. However, Lawrence suited up the following Sunday against the Tennessee Titans, and threw three touchdowns en route to a 14-point victory.
“If Trevor’s sore,” Pederson said, via ESPN. “We’ve done this before. We did last year. C.J. took the Wednesday reps and then Trevor took the rest of the week and was ready to play in the game.”
Lawrence hasn’t missed a game in his three years of professional football. In six contests this year, the former No. 1 overall pick is 4-2, and has thrown for 1,439 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions. His 239.8 passing yards per game rank No. 11 in the NFL.
Now, Lawrence and the Jags turn their attention to the Saints, who are looking to rebound following a Week 6 loss to the Texans in Houston.