He stayed in the game for that possession, completing the drive with a touchdown pass, but was seen grimacing and clutching his right shoulder after throwing. Lawrence did not return for Jacksonville’s next drive and was initially considered questionable before being ruled out in the fourth quarter.
Pederson added that Lawrence’s injury was severe “enough” that the QB couldn’t return to the game.
Jacksonville was trailing 30-6 at the time of Lawrence’s departure. His day ended with 17-of-29 passing for 211 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
C.J. Beathard took over for the Jaguars, completing 11 of 15 passes for 94 yards and a touchdown in relief.
The shoulder injury continues what has been a rough few weeks for Lawrence. He had previously suffered a high-ankle sprain in Week 13 and entered the concussion protocol last week. Despite these setbacks, he was only cleared the day before the Jaguars’ matchup with the Buccaneers.
“It’s frustrating that we had so many mistakes all the way around,” Lawrence said of the loss. “It’s frustrating that I had a couple turnovers again. At some point, we got to take control of it and go play the way I know we’re capable of playing. And we’re not doing that. It’s like we’re all waiting around, waiting on something to happen for us to get out of this funk and it’s not happening. No ones going to come save us. We got to go take control and take these games and win them and put ourselves in position. So, yeah, I got a lot of thoughts. It’s frustrating. It’s really embarrassing and frustrating.”
Jacksonville remains atop of the AFC South heading into Week 17 and face the Carolina Panthers (2-13) next Sunday.