3 major takeaways from Jaguars giving Trevor Lawrence a massive extension

Trevor Lawrence must now live up to his end of the bargain

The Jaguars have done their part. Trevor Lawrence must now do his. He got off to a slow start in 2022 but finished strong, completing 69.71 percent of his passes for 2,274 yards with 15 touchdowns and just two interceptions in the last seven games.

Unfortunately, Lawrence wasn't able to build off of his success and regressed last year. He went from 25 to 21 touchdowns. But more concerning was that he had 21 turnovers, including seven lost fumbles. Then again, context is necessary.

The Knoxville, Tennessee native didn't simply stop playing well. He suffered several injuries in the second half of the season, including but not limited to knee and shoulder sprains, and the dearth of talent around him put additional pressure on his shoulders to deliver.

While quarterbacks are expected to carry the team on their shoulders, Lawrence alone couldn't win games. His offensive line couldn't block for him, the running game was nonexistent, and the defense couldn't slow down opponents. Even the likes of Patrick Mahomes or Joe Burrow are going to have a hard time winning under those conditions.

On the bright side, the Jags realized they needed to help Lawrence and got to work in the offseason. They revamped the offensive line but also added a pair of new targets to his arsenal in Brian Thomas Jr. and Gabe Davis. On top of that, the top brass dismissed defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen and hired Ryan Nielsen to take his place.

With all those changes, Lawrence will no longer have to win games himself. But he'll need to play at a high level on a game-to-game basis. And that's the thing, he's had stretches of amazing play throughout his career. He now has to do it consistently.