Over the weekend, there was reporting that Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence was set to become the NFL's next $50 million-per-year quarterback. The contract extension has still not yet come to fruition, but it looks like it soon will. Jaguars coach Doug Pederson, at least, is hopeful.
"I think it's part of the business," Pederson said of Lawrence's extension talks, via NFL Media. "Obviously the sooner you get it done, right, it's behind everybody, and now we focus on football, and so that's not lingering and that's not out there. I know [Jaguars general manager] Trent [Baalke] and his [Lawrence's] agent, they've continued to talk and will talk, and they're working hard and tirelessly. I've just got to coach Trevor and coach football, and hopefully it gets done, and it will."
After taking significant steps forward between his rookie and sophomore seasons, Lawrence seemingly regressed a bit last season. His completion percentage and yards per attempt averages were nearly identical to the year before, but his touchdown rate dropped and his interception rate spiked significantly. Still, the former No. 1 overall pick has shown the ability to reach a high level of play, and Pederson is impressed with other aspects of the quarterback.
"Well, this time of the year, obviously the leadership," Pederson said. "A veteran guy, guys, they're gonna look up to him. How well he incorporates some of the young players that we do have, that we're working with and developing, obviously Brian [Thomas Jr.] being one of them now.
"Working with Mitch [Morse], working with Luke [Fortner], all these guys, getting time with Gabe [Davis] and just getting comfortable there. But I think the leadership part of leading this football team and really embracing that this time of the year, and then that carries over to camp."
The Jags saw Calvin Ridley walk in free agency this offseason, but replaced him with the signing of Davis and drafting Thomas. They also efforted to upgrade the protection in front of Lawrence, and are clearly hoping that combination of moves will help him tap into the full extent of his skill set. Regardless of whether the extension comes and when, Jacksonville likely has two more years of Lawrence playing on a low cap hit, and needs to take advantage of that time to get him to the point that when his cap hit does balloon, he is ready to raise the level of the players around him by enough to make up for the talent the team will have to lose to afford paying him that number.
