Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence Has High Ankle Sprain; Christian Kirk Out with Core Injury

The Jacksonville Jaguars appear to have avoided a worst-case scenario regarding quarterback Trevor Lawrence's ankle injury from Monday night's game against the Cincinnati Bengals. However, wide receiver Christian Kirk wasn't as lucky.

Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson told reporters that Lawrence suffered a high ankle sprain and has not been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Cleveland Browns. Pederson added that Kirk suffered a core muscle injury and will miss "some time."

Pederson added that he believes Kirk will likely need surgery, though a final decision has not yet been made while they continue going over his MRI results.

Kirk suffered the injury on Jacksonville's first offensive play when he caught a 26-yard pass. He stayed down on the field in pain before slowly walking back to the locker room and he didn't return. The 27-year-old leads Jacksonville with 787 receiving yards while adding three touchdowns on 57 receptions.

Lawrence went down late in the fourth quarter when left tackle Walker Little inadvertently stepped on his ankle before he was sacked. He attempted to get up but dropped back down to the ground and threw his helmet off in anger. He was helped back to the locker room where he underwent X-rays, which came back negative. The Jaguars went on to lose 34-31 in overtime to fall to 8-4.

If Lawrence is unable to play, Jacksonville will rely on veteran backup C.J. Beathard to lead the offense. Beathard completed nine of his 10 passes for 63 yards when he replaced Lawrence in Monday's game and helped put the team in position for a game-tying field goal that forced overtime.

The Jags will be facing a 7-5 Browns team Sunday that is looking to end a two-game skid.