Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence avoids major injury, suffers 'high ankle sprain'

Jacksonville Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence avoided major injury, suffering a right high ankle sprain on Monday night against the Cincinnati Bengals, coach Doug Pederson said Tuesday. Lawrence left the game with 5:47 remaining in the fourth quarter of the team's 34-31 loss.

Lawrence finished the game having completed 22-of-29 passes for 258 yards and two touchdowns.

Lawrence was stepped on by left tackle Walker Little, who was pushed backward. Lawrence's ankle then got caught underneath him and he fell to the ground. After attempting to get back up, Lawrence quickly fell, hitting his hand on the ground before removing his helmet and throwing it to the ground in frustration.

"Everything's stable, everything looks good and we'll see where he is in a couple of days," said Pederson. He did not want to speculate on his return, however, when asked if Lawrence would suit up Sunday against the Cleveland Browns.

"I'm not going to put a timetable on Trevor," said Pederson. "I'm not going to puit him in a box like that, but we'll see how he is in a couple of days."

Lawrence has never missed a game (46) since being selected with the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. He has had two close calls, suffering a toe injury against the Detroit Lions last year and a knee injury earlier this year Week 6 against the Indianapolis Colts. He played the following weeks in both cases. C.J. Beathard, a seven-year veteran, is Lawrence's backup.

"Sometimes it's just luck, just being in the right place at the right time, picking his feet up at the right time," Pederson said of Lawrence's luck when it comes to injuries. "He's long, he's tall and very flexible. As you can imagine, the one last night looked worse than it really was, very fortunate there."

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Lawrence's injury is not necessarily going to require surgery, which can occur with a high ankle sprain as seen with Steelers QB Kenny Pickett and Georgia Bulldogs tight end Brock Bowers earlier this year.

"I have not had discussions with the docs about that," Pederson said. "I don't think [surgery] is a necessary means at this point. Because of where it is in the ankle, it's not necessarily something that surgery would be warranted at this time."

Lawrence was seen in the postgame locker room sporting a walking boot and crutches.

Christian Kirk to miss time due to core muscle injury, likely requires surgery

Overshadowed due to Lawrence getting hurt, receiver Christian Kirk also left the game after suffering a groin injury on the first offensive play of the game for Jacksonville. Kirk caught a 26-yard pass and quickly went down, needing assistance off the field.

His injury prognosis was not as fortunate as Lawrence's however. Pederson indicated that the wideout will be out this week against the Browns and that he will "miss some time" with the injury and that he believes the injury will require surgery.

"I believe so [it will require surgery]. We're going to send the images off, get another look at it and make sure that we have the right diagnosis and obviously the right plan of attack for Christian moving forward," he said.

Kirk entered Monday night's matchup as the top receiver in Jacksonville. He's caught 57 passes for 787 yards and three touchdowns thus far this season.

In Kirk's place, the Jaguars utilized sixth-round rookie WR Parker Washington, who played 59 percent of the team's offensive snaps, catching six passes for 61 yards and a touchdown. Washington will continue to play in place of Kirk in addition to his duties as a punt returner.

Jaguars injury roundup is extensive

Outside of Kirk and Lawrence, the Jaguars also had several other players go down due to injury, including OL Walker Little (hamstring), DL Foley Fatukasi (toe contusion), CB Tre Herndon (concussion protocol), CB Tyson Campbell (quad strain) and safety Andre Cisco (shoulder) were all banged up Monday night.

Cisco returned and indicated he was fine after the game in the team's postgame locker room. Pederson also indicated that he was fine on Tuesday.

All players besides Cisco, Lawrence and Kirk are thought to be day-to-day.

Campbell started Monday after missing four of the last five games due a hamstring injury.

Backup nickel corner Gregory Junior was dealing with cramps during the game and was replaced by rookie draft pick Antonio Johnson, who plays both nickel and safety for the Jaguars.

"You'd still like to get Antonio some work, whether he's playing the nickel spot or possibly the safety spot. And with Tre [Herndon] being in the protocol right now, this would be a great opportunity for both those guys to continue to get work."

Pederson said that Johnson moves well, is a good tackler and the more he plays, the more confident he'll be in what he's doing.

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: Trevor Lawrence injury update: Jaguars QB has high ankle sprain