In recent days, chatter about the Jacksonville Jaguars has centered around who their next general manager will be. However, Trevor Lawrence quickly became the topic of discussion when someone tweeted that the Pittsburgh Steelers were in serious discussions to trade for him. While there's always a chance it could happen, it would be nearly impossible for the Jags to trade No. 16 in 2025 without shooting themselves in the foot.
Ryan Burr of the Big 10 Network posted on social media that the Steelers are engaged with Jacksonville in talks to acquire Lawrence. That scoop is a bit puzzling because he's not known for breaking Jaguars news.
Steelers have made inquiries to the @Jaguars about a trade for QB Trevor Lawerence. This directly from the horses mouth in the Jags organization. WOW!
— Ryan Burr (@RyanBurr) February 13, 2025
Perhaps Burr does know someone in the Pittsburgh organization or has legitimate sources. So there's a chance he might've indeed heard something. That said, it would be virtually impossible for the Jags to upload Lawrence in 2025 even if they wanted to.
The cap hit for his extension won't hit in until 2026, but because he's already gotten a signing bonus, which is spread over the next five years, trading him in 2025 would leave a whopping $205 million in dead money. Even if Jacksonville wanted to trade Lawrence after June 1st, when it can split the dead money in too, it would leave $117 million in 2025 and the rest next year.
For the sake of the argument, let's say the Jags did entertain trade talks about Lawrence, they would be in a position to at least acquire two first-round picks and a second. After all, they would be taking on a massive cap hit to move on from him.
Why the Jaguars won't be inclined to move on from Trevor Lawrence
Leaving aside the cap ramifications, there are a couple reasons the Jacksonville Jaguars won't be inclined to trade Trevor Lawrence. For starters, they made it their priority during their head coach search to find someone who could get the best out of him. The team settled on Liam Coen, who helped Baker Mayfield post career numbers in 2024.
Despite coming off an underwhelming season, Lawrence would be a much better option than any of the options the Jaguars would have in free agency (Sam Darnold) or the draft (Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders). Moreover, the seventh-year quarterback is going to have manageable cap hits of $17 million and $24 million in 2025 and 2026, respectively.
It's also worth noting that Lawrence has played at a top-10 level in the past. The Jags would be exchanging him for an unknown commodity, one that probably won't be better, if they traded him. Simply put, it wouldn't make sense to move on from him.
If that wasn't enough reason, Jacksonville doesn't currently have a general manager. Ethan Waugh is serving as the interim, and candidates are interviewing under the impression that they'll be working with Lawrence. Imagine if the Jags trade him before they hire a general manager, whoever gets the job won't be thrilled, as he won't have any input in the organization's decision.
Of course, you should never say never, and there's a chance the Jaguars and the Steelers are having discussions. However, the negatives vastly outweigh hte negatives.