It has been an already eventful summer for Jacksonville Jaguars star quarterback Trevor Lawrence as he signed a huge contract extension lasting five-years, worth $275 million. In an interview with Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, he spoke about his NFL journey from his rookie year and how it has prepared him for the present moment.
Last season, Lawrence threw for 4,016 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions as he is the face of the Jaguars after being picked with the No, 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. He would say to Sports Illustrated that “experience is probably the best teacher” as he went through the good and the bad.
“I think that experience is probably the best teacher,” Lawrence said. “Everyone says the big thing is the ‘whys’ learned from other people’s mistakes. I do think that’s true. But I also think there are some things you just kind of have to go through. And you learn a lot when you experience them. I’ve been through all the mixes. A terrible season. A season that started really bad and we finished really great, which was 2022. And last year was the opposite, started great and finished really bad.”
“So I’ve experienced all those elements of it, and I understand how this game works,” Lawrence continued. “The NFL is just different. It’s a long season; it really is about who’s playing best in December, January, February, not September, October, November. You have to be playing your best at the right time, the end of the year. I think I have a better perspective of all of that. I’d say that’s the biggest thing.”
Lawrence talks the bitterness of the Jaguars' last season
Even though he got the huge extension, the Jaguars ended their season on a sour note as they lost five of their last six games as they were in good position to capture the AFC South. Lawrence would echo the same sentiments that last season “left a little bit of a sour taste,” but is hungry to come back and show out, especially since the organization belives in the Clemson product to lead them to the promised land.
“Obviously, you’d prefer to finish really strong that year and put yourself in a better position, not necessarily leverage-wise, but just feeling good about the future, feeling really sure about it,” Lawrence said. “I think that left a little bit of a sour taste in all our mouths, the way we finished. But I mean, no, because I believe in the player I am. And now it feels good, and I knew they did already, that the organization believed in me.”
“To put it out there, put it on paper, that I have the full faith and belief of the organization, for them to pay me like a top quarterback in the league, and to sign a long-term deal here, and put that faith and trust in me, feels really good,” Lawrence continued. “And to be backed by Mr. [Shad] Khan, and Trent [Baalke], and Doug and [Pederson] all the people that are involved in making that decision, that feels as good as anything. Obviously, the money is awesome, too, but it’s the respect, and feeling that I’m really backed by the team.”
Lawrence on his former dreams and aspirations
For Lawrence, while he has always been confident in himself to get a contract extension like he just earned, he spoke about how his original dreams and aspirations as child was just to be a college quarterback. Fast forward when got to the NFL, his number one goal is to make the Jaguars “a great organization.”
“As a kid, I just dreamed of being a college quarterback,” Lawrence said via Sports Illustrated. “Growing up in the South, college football is a bigger deal than the NFL. That was my dream as a kid, so I didn’t even get this far as a kid. I’m grateful, obviously. Along the way, you realize it, as your dreams are coming true, and you keep going forward into the future, and think about how far you can take this. But I don’t know, I try to keep myself in the moment as much as possible. That’s something I’m grateful that I’ve been able to do in my career, not get too far ahead of myself.
“To be honest, I believed I could do this, and here, for the last few years,” Lawrence continued. “But I wouldn’t say this is something I’ve necessarily thought about more than that. Ever since I got here to Jacksonville, I knew I wanted to take this team farther than it’s gone before, and I wanted to make this a great organization. I wanted to be a key piece of that.”
In any sense, the Jaguars are looking to make a huge bounce back next season as they are coming off of a 9-8 record which put them second in the AFC South. They start the upcoming season on the road against the in-state Miami Dolphins on Sunday, Sept. 8.
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