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Trevor Lawrence injury-prone? Jacksonville Jaguars QB focused on health, unbothered by label
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- Trevor Lawrence injury-prone? Jacksonville Jaguars QB focused on health, unbothered by label
Trevor Lawrence isn't worried about being labeled injury-prone, but the Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback understands he must stay healthy if he wants himself and his team to have even a modicum of success.
Lawrence's injuries and availability have been the leading discussion focused on the franchise quarterback since the 2023 season. After sustaining multiple injuries that year, Lawrence repeated his fate in 2024 , but missed seven of the final nine games of the season rather than one game missed in 2023.
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Lawrence's injury-riddled season has been the first criticism levied at the QB since the end of this season.
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After his final game as the team's head coach, Doug Pederson addressed reasons why the team wasn't successful this season, pointing to injuries at quarterback as one primary factor.
"Quite honestly, it's two years in a row our quarterback hasn't been healthy, and that's something we've got to make sure that he stays healthy, and he will. He knows that. He sees it and understands that," Pederson said.
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Lawrence sustained two major injuries this season: an AC joint sprain in his left, non-throwing shoulder and a concussion . The ailments cost him five straight games to end the year and two games before the team's bye week.
Jacksonville finished with a 2-5 record in Lawrence's absence after starting the season 2-8 with him under center.
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) is carted off the field after sustaining a heavy hit during the second quarter of an NFL football matchup Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]
Ultimately, it was Lawrence's shoulder injury, not a concussion sustained in Week 13 against the Houston Texans , that landed the fourth-year QB on injured reserve. It was a "collective decision" to shut down his season after originally sustaining the injury in Week 9 against the Philadelphia Eagles , Lawrence said in his postseason press conference last week.
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"It's not the most common to have this type of AC injury. Obviously, AC joint injuries are common, but the severity of this one's a little bit different. It wasn't a clear-cut, 'I've got to get surgery.' That was what was difficult. I didn't have a clear answer necessarily, so I had to wait and give it time," Lawrence said, adding that he felt healthy enough to face the Texans before reassessing on the following Monday.
Once Lawrence sustained a severe concussion against the Texans, it added another hurdle for him to leap over, something he didn't want holding himself nor the team back since surgery on his shoulder was going to be the most likely path during or following the season.
"I knew at that point it wasn't getting that much better. The pain was getting better, but just some of the other issues around that area that it was causing, I knew I was probably going to have to get surgery, so we just decided that that was the best route because I was going to be out a few weeks with the concussion," said Lawrence.
Lawrence opted for surgery and is four weeks into his recovery with just over two weeks left sporting a sling. He said he's "hoping" to be ready for Organized Team Activities in May, but he won't rush the recovery time.
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"It's not going to really affect too much of the offseason and hopefully, I'll start being able to train in the next couple of months. Train hard," he said.
Trevor Lawrence unbothered by potential 'injury-prone' label
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) talks with offensive coordinator Press Taylor during practice on Nov. 7 at the Miller Electric Center. Lawrence was limited for a second day in a row because of a left shoulder injury.
Given Lawrence's injury history over the last two seasons, many have begun to tab him as a quarterback who cannot stay healthy.
Getting a negative label doesn't bother Lawrence.
"What bothers me is not being out there. I'm not really worried about any labels or tags or anything, I just want to be out there because I feel like — I know I can impact the game and help us win games when I'm out there, and when I'm not, it's tough. It's tough even just being in here and getting treatment, guys going out to practice and you're just sitting there. It's weird," said Lawrence.
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"It's not fun just sitting on the sideline and not being able to have an impact. I want to be healthy, I want to be out there, but not necessarily worried about what people think it."
Lawrence has missed eight games in his NFL career after starting the first 49 games from his rookie season. His availability will shape the direction the franchise goes. He understands how important it is to stay healthy.
"So, being the franchise quarterback, I have to be out there, I have to be on the field and have to be available, so I think that's difficult for me to not be able to do that, and really the last two seasons that's been a struggle for me," Lawrence said.
"Last year, I only missed one game because of it, but still was dealing with a lot of injuries and that's something in my career, until last year, I didn't deal with really much, so, this year was tough missing basically half the season because of injuries and having to watch and definitely get a different perspective of everything when you're not in the middle of it every day."
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Lawrence will get this offseason to train his body to get strong and figure out how to limit injuries on a down-by-down basis.
"You're not going to limit everything, but just doing my part to stay out there and not taking unnecessary risks when I need to be healthy for the season, for one play. You've got to weigh that. Is it worth it getting the first down this one play on second down or is it more important to stay healthy for the long term? I think I've learned a lot through injuries and the different ways they've happened, and how I can try to protect myself more because that's the main thing I need to do," said Lawrence.
Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Demetrius82 or on Bluesky @ Demetrius .
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence ignores injury-prone label, focused on health
