Trevor Lawrence's head-turning remarks resurface ahead of Jaguars vs. Texans game

Throughout his football career, Trevor Lawrence has gotten the spotlight for a myriad of reasons. A couple of them are relevant now. Coming out of college, he raised eyebrows because he said he loved football but it wasn't his biggest priority in life. He later had to clarify his remarks. Then in 2022, the former Clemson Tiger said a switch flipped during a losing skid the Jags endured early in the season. Both comments have resurfaced ahead of the game against the Houston Texans.

Jacksonville is currently 0-3. Lawrence has played a role in the record and is presently on pace to post career lows in most meaningful passing categories. That's led Mike Florio of Pro Football Focus to dig out a couple of remarks the fourth-year quarterback has made.

The first one happened during the draft process, with Lawrence pointing out that his life didn't revolve around football. Critics took it as him saying that he wasn't passionate about it. After the backlash, the Knoxville, Tennessee native had to backtrack and expand on his original statement.

Florio says that an NFL coordinator reminded him of the pre-draft comments following the humiliating loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 3. But instead of piling up on the quarterback, the talking head said that it's time for Lawrence to prove that he does have a team on his shoulder and can elevate his teammates in the face of adversity, especially after getting a top-market extension in the offseason.

"With Lawrence signing a contract carrying a new-money average of $55 million in the offseason and with the Jaguars at 0-3 and reeling from a 47-10 blowout in Buffalo, now is the time for Lawrence to reach a higher level of performance and leadership. Now is the time to prove to everyone tha football is his priority, and that he can and will earn his money."

A few days later, Florio followed that up with another article about the time Lawrence said he flipped a switch after a loss to the Denver Broncos in 2022 to put it all together and finish the year strong. He says the Knoxville, Tennessee native will have to do it again if the Jaguars want to have a shot at turning things around.

"So the question becomes whether Lawrence can and will turn the clock back to the aftermath of the October 30, 2022 loss to the Broncos. Back to when the Jaguars started to climb out of a 2-6 hole. Finishing the year 9-8, winning the AFC South on the final Saturday night of the season, wiping out a 27-0 deficit in the wild-card game against the Chargers, and giving the Chiefs a real fight in making an exit from the round of eight."

At the time, Lawrence said something along the lines of putting it all together because he didn't want to let his team down. That propelled him to play like a top-10 quarterback, completing 68.4 percent of his passes for 2,038 yards with 14 touchdowns and just two interceptions in the last eight games.

Lawrence picked up where he left off in 2023. This time though, he had additional pressure on his shoulders because his supporting cast was less than ideal. Still, he gave them a fighting chance week in and week out, or at least until he began to deal with a series of ailments. With his diminished health, the season slipped out of Jacksonville's hands.

Nevertheless, the Jaguars believed Lawrence did enough in previous year to earn a contract extension, so they gave him one in the offseason. It's fair to say that he's failed to live up to it, completing 52.8 percent of his throws for 859 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in three games this season. Flipping the switch once again would certainly come in handy.

Trevor Lawrence must elevate his teammates if the Jaguars want to bounce back

Trevor Lawrence is getting plenty of blame for the Jaguars' dreadful start to 2024, but some of it is justified. For starters, a lot of attention is placed on quarterbacks because they're the ones that have the biggest impact on the outcome of a football game, for better or worse.

Regardless of how subpar his supporting cast is, Steezy Trev isn't making enough plays like he has in previous years. In his defense, he's been shackled by poor playcalling and less-than-stellar protection. But that's not news.

The system is the same from the past two seasons and his offensive line is virtually the same from last year. This is a conjuncture but it doesn't look like Lawrence's is currently comfortable in the team's offensive scheme. If that's the case, he must either express his displeasure or just go along with the program and execute.

Basically, Lawrence must put his head down and deliver. He's getting paid to do so and will need to do it against the Houston Texans if the Jacksonville Jaguars want to have a shot at steering the ship in the right situation in a season in which things aren't going the way they expected.

More Jaguars analysis here: