Jacksonville Jaguars: 3 most important preseason developments

The Jacksonville Jaguars put an end to their quarterback competition when head coach Urban Meyer announced Trevor Lawrence will be the starter in Week 1 of the regular season. Also, he will get the starting nod versus the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3 of the preseason.

There was never a doubt Lawrence would get the starting job before the start of the season. He was the Jaguars’ best quarterback throughout training camp, and it’s not even close. He had more good practices than bad ones and constantly displayed his ability to throw the ball. The Clemson product had a sitdown with the local media and talked about the Jaguars’ decision to name him the starter.

"I’m really excited for the opportunity. I’m grateful for it. It doesn’t really change anything though. We still have the same task in front of us, we’ve got to get a lot better individually, as a team, as an offense. It brings some clarity, which is nice, going forward but it really doesn’t change much."

Lawrence has been splitting reps with Gardner Minshew during training camp. Meyer said that once he earned the job, he would exclusively get first-team reps. The Jaguars head coach noted that he hadn’t talked to Minshew yet but took the opportunity to praise him.

"Obviously, my respect for Gardner has been well documented, and it’s just a warrior. And then, Gardner got stuck behind some protection issues. At times, he was running for his life back there."

However, Meyer pointed out that the backup job is open as well. This isn’t surprising, as C.J. Beathard threw for two touchdowns against the New Orleans Saints while Minshew went 13-of-21 for 149 with one interception. Whoever plays better against the Cowboys could end up earning the backup quarterback job, so this is something worth keeping an eye on.

Without further ado, here are other preseason developments.