Georgia football HC Kirby Smart on why Lawrence Cager did not play Saturday

georgia football HC Kirby Smart discussed why wide receiver Lawrence Cager did not play vs the Texas A&M Aggies.

Georgia football wide receiver Lawrence Cager dressed out for Saturday’s game vs Texas A&M but did not see the field.

He has been in pain all season after separating his shoulder against Tennessee.

Multiple times, he has re-aggravated that shoulder throughout the season, including early on in last week’s win at Auburn.

With a big game on the horizon vs LSU in the SEC Championship, Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs need a healthy Cager, who has been Jake Fromm’s go-to receiver when healthy.

Smart discussed Cager’s injury and why he was held out of the game on Saturday.

“We thought he’d be able to go. He practiced during the week. He was obviously not 100 percent during the week, and we wanted to see him go in warm-ups and cut it loose. We didn’t feel that he could,” Smart said. “It’s one of those deals where you say, ‘Why don’t you just shut him down?’

Well, shutting him down doesn’t necessarily get him healthy either. He doesn’t take the hits and pounding during the week. So he’s helping to take a little mileage off the other guys, and also staying fresh in the offense. Sometimes when you step away you get away. It’s not his legs that are tired; it’s his injury. He just didn’t feel comfortable that he could go, and it was tough conditions. We knew it would be tough conditions. Having a healthy guy out there helps.”

This season, Cager is Georgia’s leading receiver despite missing significant time with his injury.

He currently has 33 catches for 476 yards and four touchdowns.

True freshman George Pickens is closing in on Cager. Pickens has 32 catches for 457 yards and five touchdowns.