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Jaguars won't bring in a new QB, have confidence in C.J. Beathard with Lawrence on the mend
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- Jaguars won't bring in a new QB, have confidence in C.J. Beathard with Lawrence on the mend
With Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence set to be limited or out completely this week after suffering a high ankle sprain against the Bengals, the team is expected to turn to backup C.J. Beathard in the event Lawrence isn't able to suit up Sunday against the Cleveland Browns .
On Tuesday, head coach Doug Pederson described Lawrence's injury as "fortunate" because of what it looked like live compared to what the third-year QB came out with, injury-wise.
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Lawrence injury update: Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence avoids major injury, suffers 'high ankle sprain'
As for Beathard , Pederson said that it's good he will have time to prepare to play against the Browns rather than being thrown into the fire like he was against the Bengals on Monday.
"It's good to get C.J. a full week of preparation. Trevor will stay mentally sharp and see where he's at. To give C.J. the time this week with the offense and with [OL] Luke Fortner and the center-quarterback stuff, working with the running backs, it'll be good for C.J. Otherwise, I thought [Monday] night C.J. filled in nicely," said Pederson.
Jacksonville Jaguars back-up quarterback C.J. Beathard (3) and linebacker Foyesade Oluokun (23) leave the field after Monday night's loss to the Bengals. Beathard played in the game after Jaguars starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) went out of the game with an ankle injury. The Jacksonville Jaguars hosted the Cincinnati Bengals at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida for Monday Night Football, December 4, 2023. The Jaguars were tied 14 to 14 at the end of the first half an fell in overtime with a final score of 34 to 31. [Bob Self/Florida Times-Union]
Beathard completed 9-of-10 passes for 63 yards in relief of Lawrence Monday . He has completed 21-of-27 passes for 145 yards and one interception for the Jaguars in 11 games played since coming to Jacksonville in 2021.
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Beathard hasn't started games for the Jaguars but has started 12 games for the San Francisco 49ers through four years spent with the club from 2017-2020. This isn't his first rodeo, he said Monday night.
"A lot of guys came up to me and said, 'We believe in you, we know you got this.' At the end of the day, this is my seventh year in the NFL. It's not like I'm a young guy going in there," said Beathard. "I've been in the situation before, started some games here and there. Yeah, I was ready to go."
Jaguars linebacker Foye Oluokun expressed his confidence in the backup QB immediately following the game Monday night. The team's starting units typically practice against the backup units for in-season practices.
"We play C.J. (Beathard) all the time in practice, so we know he's a very capable quarterback. We're just trying to find a way to win. Obviously, our prayers went out for Trevor, but we were trying to find a way to win that game," said Oluokun.
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Will Trevor Lawrence be ready to play Sunday?
Lawrence's status for Sunday will more than likely not be known until around 11:30 a.m. Sunday when teams are required to report their inactive players before a 1 p.m. kickoff.
Unless he's ruled out prior, Lawrence being a game-time decision makes sense. He was a game-time decision earlier this year against the New Orleans Saints on a Thursday night, just four after the third-year QB suffered a low-grade left knee sprain that required a brace to play on.
Lawrence is still sporting the brace today but has not been impacted by the injury over the last two weeks.
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) is helped off the field after an apparent ankle injury that had him leave the game during the fourth quarter of a regular season NFL football matchup Monday, Dec. 4, 2023 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 34-31 in overtime. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]
According to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport, it will be an " uphill battle " for Lawrence to suit up against Cleveland.
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"Trevor is resilient. But on a short week, suffering a sprain to the ligament that connects the tibia and fibula, it's an uphill battle. Lawrence will have to greatly improve his overall feeling and functionality before Sunday to have a chance," he said.
The question now is how much, if at all, Lawrence will practice this week and if he does practice, how healed he needs to be to suit up.
"I want to make sure Trevor is 100 percent before I put him or any player back on the field. It's just a matter of the player, too, and the tolerance they can withstand with any injury," said Pederson.
"You just don't want to risk it, if the player is not in any harm or could risk further damage to the area, then you have to consider it. Definitely don't want to risk a further injury."
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Another mitigating factor could be the availability of left tackle Walker Little . The third-year OL exited the game late after spraining his hamstring earlier in the contest. The team also lost its No. 1 receiver, Christian Kirk , for the foreseeable future due to a core muscle injury that is likely to require surgery.
Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes played on a high ankle sprain in the AFC Championship Game last year after suffering the injury a week prior against the Jaguars. Still, these circumstances are different. The Jaguars are not in the playoffs yet and the aforementioned injuries on the offense aside from Lawrence give the possibility some pause.
Will the Jaguars bring in another veteran quarterback?
With Lawrence on the mend and Beathard the next man up, speculation has re-ignited about the Jaguars potentially bringing in a veteran similar to how the Cleveland Browns brought in Joe Flacco a couple of weeks ago to work within their injured QB room.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles (9) talks to head coach Doug Pederson during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Chicago Bears Sunday, Jan. 6, 2019, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)
For Jacksonville, though, it doesn't appear likely the team will bring in a QB, at least not just yet.
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"We haven't had those discussions yet," Pederson said when asked if the team had considered bringing in a veteran, perhaps former Jaguars and Eagles QB Nick Foles .
Foles worked extensively with Pederson during their respective times with the Eagles, and the veteran QB led a late-season push to the playoffs and eventually won the Super Bowl in 2017.
If the Jaguars do not bring in a veteran, it bodes well for Lawrence's recovery.
Nathan Rourke is next man up behind Beathard if Lawrence can't play
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Nathan Rourke (18) throws the ball during the fourth quarter of a preseason matchup Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The game was suspended in the fourth after Miami Dolphins wide receiver Daewood Davis (87) was injured on a play with the Jaguars leading 31-18.
If Lawrence cannot play Sunday or beyond, the Jaguars will turn to rookie practice squad QB Nathan Rourke if anything should happen to Beathard preventing him from playing.
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Rourke, a rookie from the Canadian Football League, completed 23-of-35 passes for 348 yards and a touchdown during the preseason this year. He was signed by Jacksonville via a futures deal in December last year and has been on the team's practice squad for most of the season.
Rourke was signed to the team's 53-man roster before the Jaguars' game against the Saints in Week 7 for the rookie to operate as the team's emergency third-string QB.
He was later waived before being re-signed to the team's practice squad shortly thereafter.
Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Demetrius82 .
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars not considering Nick Foles; Lawrence needs improvement to play
