Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence suffers high-ankle sprain vs. Bengals

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Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence sustained a high-ankle sprain during the “Monday Night Football” matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals, coach Doug Pederson said Tuesday. Lawrence was still being evaluated after Jacksonville’s overtime loss, which the 24-year-old exited midway through the fourth quarter.

“Everything’s stable and looks good,” Pederson said. The Jaguars haven’t ruled Lawrence out for Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns. The plan is for him to rehab around the clock this week to give himself a chance to play through the injury, league sources said Tuesday.

“We’ll see where he is in a couple of days,” Pederson said.

Jacksonville offensive lineman Walker Little stepped on Lawrence’s lower leg before the passer fell to his knees and threw his helmet in frustration with the game tied 28-28. Lawrence required assistance to walk to the locker room as he winced in pain. Little exited with a hamstring injury.

C.J. Beathard, who appeared in 10 games for Jacksonville before Monday, replaced Lawrence under center. The 30-year-old Beathard, who last started a game in 2020 for the San Francisco 49ers, went 9-of-10 passing for 63 yards in the 34-31 loss.

Lawrence was 22-of-29 passing for 258 yards and two touchdowns before exiting. He had 2,746 passing yards and 12 touchdowns against seven interceptions with a 67.3 completion percentage entering Monday.

Questions loom for Jaguars with Lawrence’s status uncertain

You have to wonder how much the two-play sequence with less than six minutes remaining in the game could affect the rest of the Jaguars’ season.

After Lawrence went down with the injury on third down, kicker Brandon McManus missed a 48-yard field goal try on the next play to keep the game tied at 28.

Then Bengals backup quarterback Jake Browning guided Cincy on an ensuing drive where Evan McPherson drilled a 54-yarder to take a 31-28 lead with 2:28 remaining.

But the aftermath of Lawrence’s injury could be costly. The Houston Texans are hot on the Jaguars’ heels and the Indianapolis Colts aren’t going away in the AFC South. Can Beathard keep Jacksonville going in the near future with Lawrence’s status uncertain? — Larry Holder, NFL senior writer