Neither Trevor Lawrence nor the Jacksonville Jaguars had the season they had hoped for. Following a strong debut season under Doug Pederson, Lawrence had 21 turnovers in a season where he declined, and the Jaguars lost all five of his starts and missed the playoffs.
The turnovers were reminiscent of Lawrence’s terrible 2021 season, which was led by Urban Meyer. Lawrence gave up 22 points during that season (17 interceptions and 5 fumbles lost).
After that first season with Meyer, Lawrence lost faith in his abilities, which Pederson restored in his first season under his guidance.
Has Lawrence gone back to how he was before Meyer? At last week’s NFL Annual League Meeting, Pederson made a strong statement asserting that Lawrence was “light years” away from that.
Pederson stated, “Just where he is mentally, just the mental part,” according to a transcript from the Jaguars. “As football players, we need to improve, but psychologically, he’s doing well. He couldn’t have been in a very good mental state coming out of 2021, but now that he’s playing significant games, I can only assume. Again, I wasn’t here in 2021.
“He has taken our team over the last two years, and we now need to overcome that. It annoys him now. He finds that portion bothersome. It’s a good thing he gets bothered by football. That’s the point at which we need him to push us past that wall and envelope. He is also motivated by the manner in which we concluded our season.”
In two of his three seasons, Lawrence has ended with more than twenty giveaways. When the Jaguars won the AFC South in 2022, he had 17 (eight interceptions, nine fumbles lost). Since joining the NFL, turnovers have been a concern for Lawrence, something Pederson is still working to address. By decreasing the fumbles, Pederson hopes to reduce the amount of giveaways.
Interceptions will undoubtedly occur, but the pocket stuff is more important. The fumbling in and out of the pocket is what causes it. The ball security thing is what we can assist him with,” Pederson stated. Young players find it difficult since they believe they can make every play. It’s acceptable to discard the ball.
All we need to do in these circumstances is to continue teaching him. It can be coached. Every time a snap is made, you are the guy touching the ball. We also need to make wise choices.”
