Will Trevor Lawrence Return After the Jaguars' Bye?

Will the Jacksonville Jaguars have their franchise quarterback on the field this time next week?

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson talks with quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) during the second quarter an NFL football matchup Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jacksonville Jaguars defeated the Tennessee Titans 34-14. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Unio / USA TODAY NETWORK

While questions are swirling about the job status of the Jacksonville Jaguars' football leadership, there is still a season left to be played.

When the Jaguars return from their Week 12 bye, they still have six games left on the 2024 schedule. This includes four AFC South games -- two against the Tennessee Titans and one apiece against the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts.

And while the playoffs are no longer a plausible scenario with the Jaguars' 2-9 record, the Jaguars still have a locker room that will want to finish the year strong. But to give the Jaguars any chance to rattle off wins in the final six weeks of the season, they will need starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence back under center.

Lawrence has missed the last two games with an injury to his left shoulder. It is the first stretch in which Lawrence has ever missed back-to-back games, and the offense has suffered without him. In the last two games, the Jaguars have scored just 13 points, picked up just 20 first downs, and haven't gained 200 yards of offense in a game yet.

But will Lawrence actually be available for the Jaguars in Week 13 vs. the Texans?

“I mean we’ll see. We’ll see how he does during the week of this bye and see where he’s at," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said after Week 11's 52-6 loss to the Detroit Lions.

"I’m not going to commit right now obviously. We still have a ways away, but we’ll see. We’ll see how he does this week, and we have time, so we’ll figure that out.”

While Lawrence has been replaced in the lineup by backup quarterback and former first-round pick Mac Jones in recent weeks, the Jaguars' franchise quarterback has remained an active participant in the Jaguars' offense while on the sidelines with a headset.

“Yeah, I tell you what, he was really engaged yesterday. Helped Mac the entire day," Pederson said after Lawrence missed Week 10 vs. the Minnesota Vikings.

"We had great conversations on the sideline, things that he saw. So yeah, that's something that he can definitely get a little different perspective, calmer eyes, and see how the game flows.”

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