Jaguars might be the biggest winners of the Justin Fields trade
By Ryan Heckman
Over the weekend, the Jacksonville Jaguars were put into, well, some kind of company. We'll put it that way.
This certainly doesn't qualify as "elite" company, but rather, interesting.
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence is now the only one of his first-round peers, set to be a starter in 2024, from the 2021 class.
After the Chicago Bears dealt Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers, it was announced that Mike Tomlin had named Russell Wilson the starter, for now. So, at the moment, Lawrence qualifies as the 'last man standing,' so to speak.
Trevor Lawrence is the ONLY QB taken in the first round of the 2021 draft who is set to begin the season as a starter 🤯 pic.twitter.com/bMp4vydNVU
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) March 18, 2024
The no. 1 overall pick can be somewhat of a gamble at times, but the Jaguars still appear to have made the right call going with Lawrence three years ago. He's got plenty of career ahead of him (as do the rest of his peers from that class, to be fair) and still a lot of growing to do.
Yet, the Jaguars look like a big winner here. Fields was traded away for a sixth-round pick that has the potential to become a fourth rounder at most. Mac Jones was traded for a sixth rounder. Trey Lance is a backup and was already once traded from the team that gave up a whole lot to get him in the first place, in San Francisco.
And, there's Lawrence still standing after all is said and done. He looks like he'll be just fine, too, and should even warrant an extension whether that's later during this offseason or after the 2024 season.
How do Justin Fields and Trevor Lawrence compare through three seasons in the NFL?
Lawrence | Fields | |
|---|---|---|
Starts | 50 | 38 |
Passing Yards | 11,770 | 6,674 |
Passing TD | 58 | 40 |
INT | 39 | 30 |
Passer Rating | 85.0 | 82.3 |
Rushing Yards | 964 | 2,240 |
Rushing TD | 11 | 14 |
For those wondering, Fields and Lawrence have yet to play one another at the NFL level, and it looks like that potential rivalry will have to wait until at least the 2024 regular season is over with. If Fields were to win the job in Pittsburgh and meet Lawrence and the Jaguars in the playoffs, we could see it happen.
But, the two teams do not play one another during the 2024 regular season. Now, had Fields stayed in Chicago, the two of them would have met face to face this coming season as the Jaguars and Bears will play one another.
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