The Jacksonville Jaguars finished 4-13 in 2023. One of the many reasons was that Trevor Lawrence suffered a shoulder injury and missed nearly half of the year. Rightly, his rehab has been a major talking point in the offseason, but based on comments he made on the first day of training camp, his health should not be a reason for concern ahead of the regular season.
Lawrence met with the local media following the first day of on-field work in training camp. He said that he's the healthiest he's been in a while, noting that missing time made him appreciate the opportunity to play.
"Feel really good. It's the best I've felt in a long time physically. Yeah, it's it sucks not playing, not being on the field, you know. So I love to do, love to play. And you put in all the work in the offseason and through camp, and then to have the season cut short isn't isn't fun," Lawrence responded when asked how he felt after practice (16:17). "So it's given me a really great appreciation for the game and how much you know I love it and love being out here."
Lawrence continued, "Sometimes, you take things for granted when you get to do it every day and you're healthy, and you take whether you take your health for granted or playing the game for granted. When that's taken away for a little bit, you kind of reflect and take a step back, and it's been, in some ways, it's been good for me. Unfortunately, you know, I've missed some time, and never want to miss time, but I think it's been good for some perspective things with me and myself and how I view the game and moving forward. You know, how I want to prepare myself and how I want to play."
On the days prior to training camp, Lawrence said on the O-Zone podcast that it's been the healthiest he's been in a while. He was limited during the offseason in the handoffs, but he's been working on his strength and is 100 percent.
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Trevor Lawrence can now work on being the QB the Jaguars need
Before Trevor Lawrence suffered the AC sprain last year, he had suffered a dip in production because his mechanics and decision-making were sloppy. He's been working on that aspect of his game throughout the offseason, and now that he's at full strength, he should have no trouble honing his fundamentals.
Earlier in the offseason, No. 16 talked about how he had been working on his footwork and using his eyes. Head coach Liam Coen told the media that those were major points of emphasis on Day 1 of training camp.
Now, Lawrence must build off his promising start to training camp. If he does, he should have no trouble re-joining the top-10 conversation and helping the Jaguars make a playoff push in 2025.