Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence has a sprained right shoulder and is uncertain for the Jaguars’ NFL game against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, coach Doug Pederson said Tuesday.
“Obviously he’s a little bit sore but doing better today than he did yesterday,” Pederson told reporters on Tuesday as the AFC South-leading Jags prepared for Sunday’s game.
“We’ll see where he is at again tomorrow, may do a little something tomorrow but I would doubt that just because it’s a little bit too soon, but we’ll see as the week goes on.”
Lawrence was injured when he dived for a first down in the third quarter of the Jaguars’ 30-12 loss at Tampa Bay, Jacksonville’s fourth straight defeat.
Lawrence stayed in the game to finish the drive but was later subbed out for backup C.J. Beathard, who will start Sunday if Lawrence can’t.
As a precaution, Jacksonville signed quarterback Matt Barkley off the New York Giants’ practice squad on Tuesday.
Barkley hasn’t taken a snap in a game since 2020.
Despite their slump, the 8-7 Jaguars are tied for the AFC South division lead with Indianapolis and Houston and Jacksonville hold the tiebreaker advantages over both teams.
Lawrence hadn’t been cleared to play in last Sunday’s game until the day before, when he cleared concussion protocol and was able to extend his streak of 48 straight starts.
He had reported concussion symptoms after the Jags’ loss to Baltimore.
