Coach Doug Pederson of the Jacksonville Jaguars told ESPN’s Ed Werder that, barring a pregame workout, he anticipates that quarterback Trevor Lawrence will start against the New Orleans Saints on Thursday night.
Lawrence has indicated a strong desire to play even if he had to wear a knee brace and has reported improvement in his sprained left knee.
Andrus Peat will start at left tackle for the Saints because James Hurst is sidelined with an ankle injury, a source told Werder. Ryan Ramczyk’s absence due to a concussion will necessitate the promotion of Cameron Erving from the practice squad to the starting right tackle position. Trevor Penning, a first-round pick in 2022 who was benched on Sunday after making four starts at left tackle, is not currently thought of as a potential solution, a source told Werder.
Officially, Lawrence is rated as a suspect. He sounded upbeat about playing against the Saints on Tuesday, stating that he was “going to do all I can to be there on Thursday.”
In practice this week, C.J. Beathard received most of the first-team repetitions for the Jaguars, and he would start in Lawrence’s absence. After playing for the 49ers for his first three seasons, Beathard is now in his third season with the Jaguars. As a starter, he has a 2-10 record.
Since joining the Jaguars in his second or more season after being taken with the first overall pick in the 2021 draft, Lawrence has not missed a single game. He said it was an adjustment and wasn’t sure if he would wear the brace if he played on Thursday, but he wore one during practice this week.
The Jaguars (4-2) go to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers on October 29 before their Week 9 bye. The next week, they return for a home game against the Niners.
Lawrence missed only two games during his undergraduate career at Clemson, both in 2020, due to a neck injury and COVID-19. This season, he has completed 67.1% of his throws for 1,439 yards & seven touchdowns with three interceptions.