The Jacksonville Jaguars have struggled to start the season. Many picked the Jaguars to be battling the Houston Texans for the AFC South division crown until the bitter end this past off-season. That feels so long ago now, especially because the Jaguars haven’t looked like a functioning team, let alone a playoff caliber team.
The Jaguars post a 2-7 record heading into Week 10. Not ideal, but not completely eliminated from playoff hope just yet. There has been signs of life from this Jaguars offense in recent weeks, the team came close to pulling off the upset victory against the Philadelphia Eagles this past week, before falling 28-23.
However, the Jacksonville Jaguars may have lost more than just the game against the Eagles as their franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence has now been listed on the injury report. According to Jaguars Head Coach Doug Pederson, Lawrence is dealing with a shoulder injury and it’s uncertain whether or not he can play this coming week against the Minnesota Vikings.
Trevor Lawrence has had his struggles so far this season. Lawrence and the Jaguars offense has appeared out of sorts for the better part of the year, leading Lawrence to only throw for 11 touchdowns passes and six interceptions. Lawrence has also been sacked 18 times; this number could grow as the Jaguars just traded away offensive tackle Cam Robinson to the Minnesota Vikings.
Jaguars Back-up Situation
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a team that luckily have a former first round pick as their back-up quarterback. Former Alabama star and New England Patriots first round pick, Mac Jones. Jones got off to a promising star in New England, trying to fill the shoes of NFL legend Tom Brady. The last couple of seasons in New England would be a downhill spiral for Jones. A mixture of incompetent offensive coordinators, lack of offensive weapons, and just lack of experience didn’t help.
Jones could be a very serviceable quarterback for the Jaguars if Trevor Lawrence isn’t able to play through his shoulder injury. As HC Doug Pederson mentioned, it’s still too early to tell if Lawrence will be able to go or not. Given Trevor Lawrence’s track record of battling through injury, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him try and gut it out.
Jaguars Bring Back Veteran QB
The Jacksonville Jaguars are taking no chances on Lawrence’s health, making the move to bring back veteran QB CJ Beathard. Beathard was on the Miami Dolphins practice squad prior to the Jaguars signing him to be their emergency quarterback behind Mac Jones. Beathard is a familiar face in Jacksonville as he spent the last three seasons with the Jaguars serving as the back-up to Trevor Lawrence.
CJ Beathard is signed as an insurance policy, signaling Lawrence’s shoulder injury could actually be worse than Pederson is letting on. Beathard did play in a single game last season for the Jaguars and showed he can be a very good back-up option on top of offering his veteran presence.
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