Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and tight end Evan Engram had successful surgeries to address season-ending injuries this week, Jacksonville head coach Doug Pederson said on Wednesday.
Lawrence underwent surgery on Monday to repair an AC joint sprain in his left shoulder, which he suffered in Week 9 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
After missing two games due to the injury, Lawrence returned to play in Week 13 against Houston but sustained a concussion on an illegal hit by Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair.
The combination of injuries led Jacksonville to place Lawrence on its injured reserve on Dec. 4, ending his season. He cleared the NFL’s concussion protocol on Sunday, allowing him to schedule his shoulder operation for Monday.
Engram hurt his shoulder against the Tennessee Titans in Week 14, which he was originally expected to play through, per Pederson. However, testing revealed Engram suffered a labrum injury that required surgery, which he also had on Monday.
Like Lawrence, Engram was moved to the Jaguars’ injured reserve on Saturday, ending his campaign.
“Everything was positive in both players’ cases and just now looking forward to recovery time,” Pederson said Wednesday.
Lawrence finished his season having completed 172-of-284 passing for 2,045 yards with 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions, and rushed for 119 yards and three scores, in 10 starts.
Engram, who also missed Weeks 2-5 with a hamstring injury, caught 47 passes for 365 yards and one touchdown in nine starts.
While it is unclear if Lawrence and Engram will be cleared to participate in organized team activities (OTAs), which occurred in May this past offseason, Pederson anticipates both players recovering fully from their surgeries by sometime this spring.
“Don’t know that yet. It’s hard to put a timeframe on it, you don’t want to rush it,” said Pederson. “I guess the thing is too, in both cases, they’re not long-term, lengthy-type surgeries [or] recovery time. So, at some point this spring they’ll be ready to go.”
