Less than 72 hours away from the NFL Draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars have become the subject of a seismic rumor, and it isn't one related to a prospect they could be targeting. It involves one of their current players, and if it happens to be true, it would change the direction of the franchise and send shockwaves through the NFL. That's how big of a bombshell the scoop is.
Former NFL player PacMan Jones says that the Jags will try to trade Trevor Lawrence to pave the way for Shedeur Sanders in the NFL Draft. He doesn't share what team would be interested in acquiring the fifth-year quarterback or what kind of compensation Jacksonville would get, but he's sure that they're ready to move on from him.
"I got a lot of good sources. It's right down and Duval, they are trying to find some kind of way to get Trevor Lawrence up out of there," Jones told his cohost on his online show. "Those are real liable sources, people. Not no cap [expletive]. I know he was the first overall pick and all that, but my sources says they like to send this boy."
Jones continued, "They want to move Trevor Lawrence, and they want to bring in Shedeur Sanders. My sources says they are trying to find anybody that will take him. And don't think Trevor Lawrence selling no tickets. I'm quite sure that if Sanders wearing that No. 2, I'm quite sure would be a lot more people at the game than at the pool, don't you think?"
Later, Jones jokingly suggests that the jags will probably have a warrant for high robbery because Lawrence haven't live up to his contract.
The first overall pick in the 2021 draft, Lawrence has played well at times but hasn't been consistent enough to join the upper echelon of NFL quarterbacks. Nevertheless, the Jags gave him a top-market contract in 2024 because they believe he's the long-term answer behind center.
Expected to bounce back after an underwhelming 2023 season, the former Clemson Tiger instead regressed last year, which led to speculation about his future with the team. However, the Jaguars' new regime has made it clear that he's the guy moving forward.
For this reason, it would be shocking if the Jaguars tried to trade Lawrence on draft day. Granted, anything could happen, but there are many reasons why it's highly unlikely.
The Jaguars won't trade Travor Lawrence to make room for Shedeur Sanders
PacMan Jones may very well have sources, but this is the kind of news you expect to hear from insiders such as Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport, not a former NFL player who played for a rival team. But for the sake of the argument, let's say the Jacksonville Jaguars legitimately want to trade Trevor Lawrence, they would face several roadblocks.
The biggest one is that releasing him would accelerate a cap hit and leave the Jags with $133 million in dead money. It would severely hamper their ability to make future signings and give new contracts to their players. But even if they were in love with Shedeur Sanders, that's too much dead money to absorb, and why would they? Lawrence may not have lived up to expectations, but Jacksonville isn't in a hurry to move on from him.
And this begs the question, why would the Jags swap Lawrence for Shedeur Sanders? Jones argues that there would be a monetary reason behind this. More specifically, that one hasn't sold enough tickers, and the other one will. That's outright silly. You will be hard-pressed to find a team that's traded a franchise quarterback and takes on a gargantuan dead money hit only because attendance is low.
It might make sense for Jacksonville to trade No. 16 for performance reasons, but that's not the case. As inconsistent as he's been, he's surely better than half of the quarterbacks in the league. Sanders could turn out to be a fine player, but the Jaguars would be giving up a proven commodity in exchange for "a bigger draw."
However you look at it, PacMan's Jones' scoop sounds unfathomable, and the off chance the Jacksonville Jaguars trade Trevor Lawrence, all the scrutiny they'll get will be well-deserved.