Former NFL QB's remarks pile added expectations for Jaguars and Trevor Lawrence

The Jacksonville Jaguars are doing everything they can to help Trevor Lawrence. They brought in quarterback-friendly head coach Liam Coen and later hired James Gladstone as the general manager to make upgrades to his supporting cast. Chris Simms of Pro Football Talk believes that after all the changes the Jags made, No. 16 will have no more excuses.

Simms says that Coen is the best thing that could happen to Lawrence, pointing out that other quarterbacks have thrived under the new Jaguars head coach.

"It's a big year, right? He's got to get that shoulder right. Liam Cohen is going to be the best thing that's happened to him in his career. So this is like, there'll be no more excuses after this," Simms told co-host Mike Florio. "We've seen what Liam Cohen's done and in LA with Stafford, especially what he did last year with Baker Mayfield. He's pretty special that way, as far as offensive game-planning and knowing how to coach quarterbacks."

Simms continued, "And Trevor has some things that, yes, definitely need to be cleaned up, like you talked about. He's got the potential. We've seen periods of play where you go, 'wow, like he's carrying the team.' The year they went to the playoffs, he had a number of games where he carried the team where you'd go, 'He's kind of a superstar.' He looks like one of the six or seven best quarterbacks in the game. He's big, he's got a really strong arm. He's a very good athlete, but yet it just hasn't all come together.

After an unremarkable rookie campaign, Larwence showed in 2022 that he could play at a high level. However, his play has suffered a dip the past two years due to inadequate coaching and a subpar supporting cast. Moreover, he's dealt with several injuries that have prevented him from building consistency.

Later in the exchange, Simms argues that the Jaguars haven't put him in a position to succeed, pointing out that they've been unable to establish the run or play complementary football the past two years.

"And I think that's where, hey, this offense, they're going to help them, hopefully they can run the ball. Because they haven't been able to run the ball worth the damn the last two years. They haven't been very good at protecting either. So those are issues that people blame Trevor Lawrence, that I'd go kind of team, issues that we're putting on his shoulders there, let alone we know the defense hasn't been worth the damn there, especially early last year, it was like as bad as it ever can be."

"So there's been some things that have fallen on his shoulders, but his ability, his potential, his has not been consistently met yet, and I think that's what they're going to try to get to with Trevor Lawrence on Liam Cohen, and hopefully he can get there this year."

As Simms pointed out, the talent is there, but it hasn't consistently shown up on the football field last year. His mechanics and decision-making weren't great, and because the former Clemson Tiger didn't play well, Jacksonville struggled as a whole. Below is Simms' full exchange with Florio about Lawrence.

The Jaguars are doing their part, Trevor Lawrence must do his

The Jacksonville Jaguars have invested significant resources in Trevor Lawrence. Aside from drafting him first overall in 2021, they gave him a monster contract extension last year and hired a head coach and general manager in the offseason who can get the most out of him. At some point, they'll want a return on their investment.

Granted, the Jags haven't always helped Lawrence. You could even make the case that they've actively hindered his development, but there's only so much blame you can pin on the Jags. He's also responsible for his inconsistent play. The good news is that it looks like the franchise is at last fully committed to him.

He'd better take advantage of it, or the moment is going to come when the Jaguars give up on him. That said, if everything goes as planned, that won't happen and everyone will instead be talking about how he's bounced back and has the Jaguars competing for the AFC South and a playoff spot in 2025.

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