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By James Brizuela
Contributing Writer
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The Jacksonville Jaguars have been without star quarterback Trevor Lawrence, as the young signal-caller has been dealing with a shoulder AC joint injury since Week 9. Following the injury, Lawrence missed the last two weeks, and surgery was being discussed.
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Now, the Jaguars have released their full list of inactive players for Week 13, and that list does not contain Lawrence's name.
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Lawrence is officially active and is set to start against the Houston Texans. This is huge news. Interestingly, newly acquired CJ Beathard is on the list as inactive but will be the emergency third quarterback in case Lawrence and Mac Jones are both injured.
Joining the inactive list are running back D'Ernest Johnson, linebacker Yasir Abdullah, offensive lineman Javon Foster, defensive tackles Esezi Otomewo and Jordan Jefferson, along with Beathard.
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The Jaguars might be extra cautious with Lawrence, considering this is the second AC joint issue he has. The first occurred in Dec. 2023. The team is currently 2-9 on the season and is likely going to end up with a top-five draft pick.
There is no sense in allowing Lawrence to continue to play without the hope of the playoffs. The Jaguars signed the young quarterback to a massive five-year, $275 million contract. At the time, that tied him with Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow for highest-paid quarterback at $55 million per season.
Lawrence has been instrumental in breathing new life into the Jaguars organization. However, the team has yet to stay relevant in the AFC playoff race. They saw success with Lawrence in 2022 but lost in the Divisional Round of the 2022 Playoffs.
Since then, the Jaguars have attempted to find their footing again, but have yet to do so. Former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson has taken over as head coach, but the Jaguars have not returned to the playoffs under his leadership.
As it stands, 2024 will be the same, placing the playoff drought to two straight seasons. Though Pederson may or may not be on the hot seat this offseason, he is likely going to be smart when it comes to Lawrence.
To be honest, though Lawrence gives the Jaguars their best shot at winning, it would be smart to keep him sidelined for the rest of 2024 to avoid a serious injury. There is no sense in keeping him out on the field to potentially re-aggravate his shoulder injury.
For more on the Jaguars, head to Newsweek Sports.
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