Jaguars inactives vs. Titans: Trevor Lawrence will suit up, Christian Kirk out
• Trevor Lawrence will suit up vs. the Titans
• He'll play through a shoulder sprain
• Here's the list of inactives for the bout
The Jacksonville Jaguars will have Trevor Lawrence when they face the Tennessee Titans in the season finale. Lawrence was listed as questionable for the game with a shoulder injury but is active for the game. On the other hand, wide receiver Christian Kirk won't be suiting up for the divisional bout.
Lawrence missed the game against the Carolina Panthers after suffering a shoulder sprain in the loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 16. He returned to practice this week. Doug Pederson told the local media Friday that the third-year quarterback was going to be a game-time decision. Here's Lawrence warming up for the game, via Demetrius Harvey of The Florida Times-Union.
#Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence with more warm-up throws. Seemed fine to me: pic.twitter.com/ccCZA63G1t
— Demetrius Harvey (@Demetrius82) January 7, 2024
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported Saturday that Lawrence was trending toward playing and his status for the game was going to depend on whether he could play through pain.
#Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence (right shoulder) is trending in the right direction, sources say. It's more about pain tolerance, and it's not certain. But a good chance.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 7, 2024
Meanwhile, WR Zay Jones (knee, hamstring) should play today, while WR Christian Kirk (groin) is a less certain.
Kirk also returned to practice this week and was activated off of Injured Reserve Saturday. He's back to doing sprints but he needed to see if could make the cuts running routes. The former Texas A&M Aggie suffered a groin when hauling in a 26-yard reception in the Monday Night loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. He has 57 receptions for 787 yards with three touchdowns this season.
Wide receiver Zay Jones, for his part, is active for the game. He got an increased workload in practice this week, with Doug Pederson anticipating him to suit up for the finale. So far, he's missed eight games with a nagging knee injury. Here's the rest of the inactives for the game.
- Christian Kirk, WR
- Yasir Abdullah, OLB
- Cole Van Lanen, OL
- Angelo Blackson, DT
- Matt Barkley, QB (emergency 3rd QB)
#JAXvsTEN Inactives pic.twitter.com/8XFyYWhCTo
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) January 7, 2024
Not long after the Jaguars announced the inactives for today's game, James Palmer of NFL Media said that Lawrence told him that he felt good, and that he doesn't expect to be limited at all today by the shoulder, "he's good to go with the division on the line."
Trevor Lawrence told me he feels good. “We’re going to rip it,” he said. Lawrence doesn’t expect to limited at all today by his shoulder. He’s good to go with the division on the line.
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) January 7, 2024
The Jaguars must beat the Titans to make the playoffs
With the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Houston Texans winning Saturday, the Jacksonville Jaguars have only one path to the playoffs: Beat the Tennessee Titans. If they lose their season will effectively be over.
If the Jags do qualify for the postseason, they'll have the fourth seed and they'll face the Cleveland Browns, who are currently the fifth seed. Whether Jacksonville wins Sunday, the Texans will make the playoffs with a 10-7 record. If the Jaguars lose, Houston will then be the division champion.
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