Jaguars' Doug Pederson: QB Trevor Lawrence (ankle; questionable) 'probably' a game-time decision vs. Browns

Don’t count out Trevor Lawrence just yet.

The Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback, who is dealing with a high ankle sprain, will “probably” be a game-time decision for Sunday’s matchup against the Cleveland Browns, head coach Doug Pederson said Friday.

“He’s feeling good, we’ll see,” Pederson said. “He moved around a little bit yesterday, we’ll see how he does today. Kind of base it on medical staff, how Trevor feels and if he can go or not.”

Pederson added that Lawrence’s game status will be determined by how Friday’s practice goes, indicating the QB will be listed as questionable on the injury report. The team officially listed Lawrence as questionable later in the afternoon.

It’s a stunning development after Lawrence was injured Monday night in a nail-biting loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. In obvious pain after his offensive tackle Walker Little stepped on his leg, Lawrence slammed his helmet on the field at one point and had the Duval faithful dreading something catastrophic had taken place.

However, further testing revealed a high ankle sprain. Though no injury is ideal, it came as a bit of a sigh of relief and Lawrence returned to practice Thursday in a limited capacity. Now he’ll hold out hope he can start Sunday.

Lawrence has made 46 consecutive starts to begin his career.

In 12 games this year, Lawrence has thrown for 3,004 yards, 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

If Lawrence can’t go, veteran C.J. Beathard would get the start — the first in his three-year tenure with Jacksonville. 

Beathard had not started a game since Week 17 of the 2020 season with the San Francisco 49ers. The 30-year-old has 30 career appearances with the 49ers and Jaguars, with 12 starts, a 2-10 record, 3,614 passing yards, 18 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

Beathard had a good accounting for himself on Monday, completing 9 of 10 passes for 63 yards in relief of Lawrence against the Bengals. He did injure his non-throwing shoulder, but as reported earlier in the week by NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport, will push through it to play.

The Jaguars (8-4), hoping to hang on to first place in the AFC South, kick off against the host Browns (7-5) at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.