'One of those years': Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence talks shoulder injury, season of hurts
As he's done for much of December, Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence is preparing this week as if he will play, but listening to the medical staff after suffering yet another injury in Week 17 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Lawrence suffered a right shoulder sprain (AC joint), forcing him to miss the entire fourth quarter in the team's 30-12 lopsided loss to Tampa. After a couple of days of rest, the third-year QB said Wednesday that he's feeling a bit better.
"[The shoulder's] feeling decent, a little bit better today. The last couple [of] days [I've] been progressing pretty good. Still sore, but it's feeling a little bit better," Lawrence said.
Injury update: Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence's status Sunday unclear after AC joint sprain per Doug Pederson
Lawrence was at practice but was sporting street clothes during the portion of practice open to the media. He did not participate, only standing next to and moving with the rest of the quarterbacks and offensive coordinator Press Taylor.
In total, Lawrence has dealt with three injuries in three different weeks this month, including a high ankle sprain (Dec. 4 vs. Cincinnati Bengals), concussion (Dec. 17 vs. Baltimore Ravens) and a shoulder injury on Christmas Eve.
He admits, collectively, it's probably the most banged up he's been in a season. Lawrence has never missed a game in high school, college or the pros due to injury. He missed one game at Clemson due to COVID-19 and suffered a concussion but played the following week.
In the NFL, Lawrence has played in and started 51 straight games, including the playoffs. Still, it's been a struggle to stay healthy for the third-year QB through the back end of the season.
"It's kind of when one thing starts to feel a little better, something else happens. It's been one of those years," said Lawrence.
Still, the QB has stayed resilient throughout his injury woes, playing each week he's been injured. Perhaps he has good genes, he jokingly said.
"I'm blessed with some good genes. I'm young too, that helps. I'm still young and can recover quickly," Lawrence said with a laugh. "So, I'm sure as I get older maybe that changes a little bit."
Lawrence credited the team's training and medical staff, the plans they have for him and everything that goes along with recovery and simply "preparing your body a certain way to where you limited injuries, but when they do come up, you kind of minimize them," he explained.
Still, while Lawrence has been resilient and has been in this situation before, he admitted Wednesday that this situation is a bit different because the injury is to his throwing shoulder. During the game, Lawrence struggled to raise his arm and get the ball off before being replaced by backup C.J. Beathard.
"Kind of hard to work around that," Lawrence said of going through a shoulder injury. "Other body parts and things that are bothering you, I feel like you can kind fo work around [them] a little bit, but that [the shoulder injury] makes it a little tough," he added.
'It adds a challenge': Trevor Lawrence's practicing habits present a bit of a challenge
Lawrence made a few headlines after the game Sunday for his candor regarding how the team looked, expressing frustration that "you put a lot of work into that, and to look like you don't even practice... I mean, that's what it looks like," Lawrence said of the performance.
On Wednesday, he clarified his statement, saying he doesn't regret saying what he said, but that he didn't mean anything about the process or the way the team does things.
"I think we practice the right way. I think we work hard. I think that our coaches do a great job of preparing us and our plans in practice and the way we rep different things. I feel like we get every look," Lawrence explained.
"I just mean the way it's carrying over to the field looks like a team that doesn't practice and that's what I really meant after the game Sunday."
Since injuring his ankle in Week 13, Lawrence has practiced in full just three times, out of nine opportunities. All three full practices came during the week the team was set to play the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football.
Still, Lawrence doesn't necessarily liken the inconsistent performances to his lack of practice time in particular.
"I've played well in games where I didn't practice in the past, but there's no avoiding the fact that it is important to practice and get the rep," Lawrence said, "I'd love to be able to get out there as soon as I can because I know that's important and that's something that we need. We need to clean up stuff. That's something I've missed and I'm excited to be able to do that soon."
Lawrence will test the shoulder throughout the week and it appears he could be listed as 'questionable' by the time the weekend is here. With three quarterbacks already on the roster including freshly-signed QB Matt Barkley, no transaction is required to be made by Jacksonville to fill that role.
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' Trevor Lawrence talks shoulder injury, practice this year
