Veteran quarterback Trevor Lawrence is seemingly entering a make-or-break year with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Lawrence is the undisputed QB1 in Jacksonville, and he already signed a five-year extension worth $275 million, that doesn’t end until 2031, but there are still a lot of questions surrounding the quarterback. Critics want to know if Lawrence will find some consistency, and elevate the Jaguars to being perennial contenders.
While a lot of what has been going wrong in Jacksonville has been far bigger than the quarterback position, Lawrence has certainly had his shortcomings as well. Now, he’s entering year five with the third regime of his career. This time, the veteran quarterback has to make things work.
In a recent piece for The Ringer, NFL writer Diante Lee explained how Lawrence can do that. Highlighting six storylines to follow throughout training camp, Lee identified Lawrence trying to make it a work with regime No. 3. In order for the veteran quarterback to have success with new head coach Liam Coen, Lee said Lawrence needs to embrace Coen’s offensive system and quickly take control of it.
"Lawrence can come into training camp healthy, wipe the slate clean for the third time, and embrace an offensive system that prioritizes getting the ball out of his hands quickly. We all know that the physical talent and potential are there, and we’ve seen glimpses of that potential throughout his career, but I want to hear about how sharp and in command Lawrence is from the beginning of camp—in terms of both his arm and his understanding of the scheme."Diante Lee (The Ringer)
Trevor Lawrence can silence critics with the help of Liam Coen
Lee explains that Lawrence taking control of the offense will be him being clearly in command and quickly delivering sharp throws. That’s the way Coen had Baker Mayfield playing last season for his career year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and he’s now in Jacksonville trying to do the same thing. While the Jaguars have a much different roster than the Bucs, Jacksonville does have some exciting offensive weapons in Brian Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter.
They’ll need to help Lawrence take his game to another level, because if the Jaguars have another down season, and Lawrence continues to underwhelm, the criticism will start to get loud for the veteran quarterback.