While the Jacksonville Jaguars shut quarterback Trevor Lawrence down in early December so he could undergo shoulder surgery, it’s worth noting that he was originally sidelined because he suffered a second concussion across roughly 12 months.
While speaking with reporters on Thursday, Lawrence insisted his concussion history “doesn’t necessarily worry” him regardless of long-term health concerns associated with such head injuries.
“I think it’s something that can be scary, I guess, seeing it after the fact and not really knowing what was going on,” Lawrence said about the hit that took him out back on Dec. 1, Pro Football Talk’s Myles Simmons shared. “In that moment, I didn’t know that was happening. I was out, so I didn’t know. So, it’s kind of weird. It’s just weird seeing it after the fact, but I don’t know if ‘worried’ is the right word moving forward. I think it’s something that you definitely are aware of and just, you don’t want to get a lot of concussions, obviously.”
Lawrence has now gone down with a minimum of three diagnosed concussions, going back to his college days. There’s no indication his latest setback will prevent him from being ready for summer training camp practices, but one wonders if some within the Jaguars are now asking questions about the 25-year-old’s durability.
Lawrence put pen to paper on a five-year contract extension worth up to $275M with $142M fully guaranteed last offseason but then noticeably regressed while playing under recently-fired coach Doug Pederson. It’s thought that the Jaguars’ having Lawrence could help them lure a big-name head-coaching candidate, such as Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. Still, such theories ignore what’s become a worrisome trend regarding the signal-caller missing time during seasons.
“I don’t want to have more of them,” Lawrence added about concussions. “You want to limit them, but I think right now it’s not something I’m overly concerned about. I just want to be able to protect myself and, obviously, don’t want to continue that trend because that can definitely affect how long you play if you keep getting those. I want to stay healthy. I want to avoid those shots to the head when I possibly can.”
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa previously embraced jiu-jitsu training to avoid concussions. Once Lawrence has fully recovered from his procedure, he may want to reach out to Tagovailoa for recommendations on how to stay in the lineup for 17 regular-season games.
