When Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence was kicked in the right ankle by left tackle Walker Little against the Cincinnati Bengals, it looked like he might have suffered a serious injury.
After an MRI, the Jaguars did not rule out the star quarterback, saying he suffered a sprained ankle. However, their top receiver, Christian Kirk, was ruled out due to a core injury suffered earlier in the game.
Walker Little, injured on the same play as Lawrence, is also a question mark as the Jaguars turn their attention to the Cleveland Browns. Jaguars coach Doug Pederson called Lawrence’s injury “just a sprained right ankle” in his press conference Tuesday.
The rest of his ankle appears stable after testing. While Pederson isn’t ruling Lawrence out against the Browns, he’s also not ready to put a timetable on the injury, saying we’ll see what it looks like in a few days.
Not only did Lawrence step on his ankle, but he also fell awkwardly with his ankle underneath him. He got help and tried to walk before falling to the ground.
The Jaguars organization was later heavily criticized on social media when cameras showed a few staff members helping Lawrence off the field, down the tunnel and walking to his hospital room instead of driving him by cart.
After the game, Lawrence was reportedly seen in the locker room, but was unwilling to put any weight on his injured ankle.C.J. Beathard finished the game as the Jaguars’ quarterback.
If Lawrence can’t play, the Jaguars will likely go with Beathard, who will get whatever practice reps Lawrence is missing while the team waits to make a decision. Even if Lawrence is able to play, his mobility will be limited.
The Jaguars quarterback just got back to full health and was able to move around effectively, opening up some options within their offense. For example, the Jaguars had an option where Lawrence threw the ball to Travis Etienne for a touchdown.
If he plays, he’ll probably just play out of his own pocket. The reason Lawrence was caught on the first play is because his left tackle, Walker Little, suffered a left hamstring injury on the same play.
As a result, Little was backed up, which ended with him stepping on Lawrence’s right foot and ankle. They will wait until the end of the week to evaluate his potential availability.
Christian Kirk received a pass from Lawrence early in the game that put him in a tough corner. He was helped off the field and initially listed as questionable with a groin injury. Subsequently he was officially expelled.
The team described it as a core muscle injury and said Kirk would miss some time, ruling him out for Sunday’s game at Cleveland. Kirk leads the Jaguars with 57 receptions and 787 yards.
Kirk is a player who can position himself within the offensive formation and take advantage of matchups, which can put pressure on secondary opponents.
Considering the Browns are still dealing with their own injuries at corner, including Denzel Ward and Cameron Mitchell, this could have meant a major tactical advantage for the Jaguars.
They will still have Calvin Ridley and Evan Engram who have proven to be effective at catching threats, but Kirk is a significant loss regardless of who is under center for the Jaguars in Cleveland.
On the defensive side of the ball, defenseman Tre Herndon is in concussion protocol after being ruled out of Monday night’s game. Jacksonville Jaguars interview Doug Pederson after Urban Meyer shooting.
Pederson, a Super Bowl-winning coach with the Eagles, was mentioned as a candidate earlier this month by CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora when he reported that quarterback Trevor Lawrence would draw interest from several candidates.During five seasons with the Eagles, Pederson went 42-37-1.
He led the Eagles to the playoffs three of five seasons and won Super Bowl LII in 2017. Pederson had a 4-2 record in the postseason.Jacksonville fired Meyer after a 2-11 start to his freshman season.
The problems on the field were evident for the Jaguars, as were Meyer’s choices off the field.“I apologize to Jacksonville,” Meyer said after his firing, via NFL.com. “I love Jacksonville.
It’s one of the reasons I took the job. I still think Shad is a great owner. It’s heartbreaking. I dreamed that it would become a destination with a new facility that he wanted to build and that one day he would enter that stadium where it was standing room only.
Because I know how much the people of Jacksonville want it. So I’m heartbroken that we weren’t able to do that. I still believe it will happen. It’s such a beautiful place.”
Meyer signed a five-year contract with the Jaguars before the season.“I tell people losing eats your soul,” Meyer said, via NFL.com. “Once you start losing, it’s hard for everyone.
At one point, when we won two out of three, I thought there was some momentum, a lot of energy, that the defense was playing really well.
We did run the ball and then it all blew out on us, and then we started turning the ball over. We had this bye week and then James Robinson gets hurt. La Canfora reported that Jim Caldwell is also expected to be interviewed by the Jaguars.”
They also both have markedly different behaviors and personalities than the recently fired Urban Meyer, who was unable to survive his first season as an NFL head coach amid turmoil and turmoil constant,” La Canfora recently wrote.
“His extensive NFL experience and Pederson’s experience as a former NFL quarterback are also of interest to the Jaguars, sources said.”Darrell Bevell is the interim head coach and will have a good chance of filling that position, according to La Canfora.Nick Kosko contributed to this report.
