What happened to Trevor Lawrence?

By Trevor Speetzen December 06, 2024 05:48

Photo by AP/Steven Senne

Coming out of Clemson, Trevor Lawrence was thought to be the next great NFL quarterback. Lawrence was drafted first overall in the 2021 NFL draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Lawrence’s impressive resume in high school and at Clemson gave NFL fans and experts alike a reason to think that Lawrence was going to be the franchise quarterback to help turn around a struggling Jaguars organization.

Like any rookie, Lawrence struggled during his first season with Jacksonville. To be fair to him, he was at the mercy of Urban Meyer being the team’s head coach. Meyer already had enough problems with the organization and anything that Lawrence did on the feld reflected Meyer’s NFL coaching ability.

In 2022, the Jaguars fired Meyer and hired Super Bowl-winning head coach Doug Pederson. Pederson previously coached the Philadelphia Eagles from 2016-2020 and won a Super Bowl with the team in 2017.

Initially, the pairing of these two looked like a match made in heaven. In 2022, the Jaguars finished 9-8 and won the AFC south division.

Their biggest moment together was the 2022 Wild Card round against the Los Angeles Chargers. After trailing 27-0, Lawrence and the Jaguars mounted a big comeback to defeat LA 31-30. The Jaguars were eliminated the very next week against the Kansas City Chiefs.

That season, Lawrence threw 25 passing touchdowns and only eight interceptions. He also threw for 4,113 passing yards and had five rushing touchdowns as well.

Entering 2023, fans and experts predicted that Jacksonville would repeat as division champions and that Lawrence would take another big step in his development.

This looked to be the case during the first half of the season, the Jaguars were 8-3 and had a strong grasp on the division.

However, the Jaguars would suffer a late season collapse, due in part to Lawrence’s week 13 ankle injury against the Cincinnati Bengals. Ultimately, Jacksonville finished 9-8 and missed the playoffs entirely.

Lawrence played 16 games that year and dealt with four separate injuries that season. Lawrence threw 21 touchdowns, 14 interceptions and 4,016 passing yards in 2023.

Despite the collapse, the Jaguars awarded Lawrence with a five-year $275 million contract extension in 2024. Jacksonville, looking to rebound from their epic mid-season collapse, began the 2024 season 0-4.

Lawrence also suffered two major injuries this season as well. In a week 9 loss against the Philadelphia Eagles, Lawrence suffered an AC joint sprain and missed the next two games.

Then recently in week 13, Lawrence suffered a concussion after a late hit from Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair. Shaair was suspended for three games after the late hit.

Lawrence was obviously removed from the game, but it was later announced that Lawrence will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery to repair his AC joint, promptly ending his 2024 season.

It’s really fascinating to see what has happened to Lawrence. He went from leading the biggest comeback in Jaguars history to being an injury prone quarterback.

It isn’t entirely his fault, the Jaguars have failed to give him any protection and build any sort of team around him. Unless things improve in Jacksonville, Lawrence may have to skip town in order to fulfill his full potential in the NFL.