The Jacksonville Jaguars have been falling apart recently, as they have lost four straight games to throw their grip on the AFC South into doubt. As has been the case seemingly every week in the month of December, all eyes are on Trevor Lawrence, who is now dealing with a shoulder injury ahead of their Week 17 contest against the Carolina Panthers.
Lawrence added to his laundry list of injuries in Jacksonville's Week 16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when he picked up a shoulder injury, but head coach Doug Pederson said that he was expecting his star quarterback to practice in limited capacity on Thursday after missing practice on Wednesday. That didn't end up happening, though, as Lawrence missed his second straight day of practice, which isn't a good sign for his Week 17 status.
From @GMFB: Injury updates from last night and moving forward, focusing on #Browns WR Elijah Moore (concussion), #Texans QB CJ Stroud (cleared concussion protocol), #Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence (shoulder), and #49ers QB Brock Purdy (stinger). pic.twitter.com/JQpqpA11eH
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 29, 2023
It's never a good sign when a player misses two days of practice in a row with an injury, but it's particularly noteworthy for Lawrence in this case because he was expected to practice. The fact that something popped up that ultimately prevented him from suiting up and taking the field with his teammates isn't very encouraging, and it has seriously thrown his status for Week 17 in doubt.
Trevor Lawrence still has one more shot to find his way onto the practice field on Friday, and we have seen him play through some serious injuries before, but this is pretty much the last thing Jaguars fans wanted to hear heading into a huge Week 17 matchup. Given the state of the Panthers, the Jags should be able to win even if Lawrence can't play, but the team and their fans would surely like to have their starting quarterback on the field for what is their biggest game of the season to this point.