The good news for the Jacksonville Jaguars was that they extended their winning streak to three games on Sunday, improving their record to 4-2. The bad news, however, is that their franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence left the game late with a knee injury.
#Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence grabs at his knee after getting taken down on this play.
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) October 15, 2023
Lawrence didn’t return to the game after this play, but he only missed one possession in which they kneeled the ball three times to run out the clock with a 17-point lead. Initially, there wasn’t enough reason to believe that Lawrence would miss the Jaguars’ Week 7 matchup against the New Orleans Saints, as Jacksonville opened as a 1.5-point favorite on FanDuel. But since then, there has been less optimism about his availability for Thursday night.
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Will Trevor Lawrence Play This Week?
On Monday afternoon, Adam Schefter reported that, although Lawrence’s injury isn’t significant, it’s uncertain whether he will play this week.
Injury update: Jaguars’ QB Trevor Lawrence has what a league source described as a knee “sprain” that “is not a significant thing.” But it is uncertain whether Lawrence can play Thursday night at New Orleans and Jaguars will determine as week progresses. Backup QB is CJ Beathard. https://t.co/zpEdnMswLp
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 16, 2023
Since the spread opened at Jaguars -1.5 on Sunday night, the line moved 4.5 points Monday, with the New Orleans Saints becoming three-point favorites at home. Additionally, the total dropped from 42.5 to 39, but that also could be due to a lot of action on the under, as the Saints have a really good defense but have struggled mightily on offense.
However on Tuesday afternoon, it was reported that Lawrence was a limited participant in practice. Soon after, the line started to shift back in the Jaguars’ direction, as spread moved from Saints -3 to Saints -1.5. After it looked unlikely Lawrence was going to play at first, that is definitely a positive sign for Jaguars fans.
Who Would Start in Place of Trevor Lawrence?
If Lawrence is ruled out for Thursday, backup QB C.J. Beathard will get the start for Jacksonville. Although Beathard is an experienced backup, with 12 career starts under his belt, he has the very difficult task of having to play this Saints defense on a short week. So far this season, the Saints have allowed the sixth-fewest passing yards and have 10 takeaways in six games.
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We’ll provide more updates here on Lawrence’s availability as they come out before Thursday. Stay tuned as we get more clarity in the coming days.