Trevor Lawrence

Jags, Trevor Lawrence Begin Extension Talks

Trevor Lawrence‘s ascent encountered some turbulence last season; the Jaguars flopped down the stretch and missed the playoffs. That ending has not changed the organization’s plans with its centerpiece player.

Franchise-caliber quarterbacks often sign extensions before their fourth season. Lawrence is now in that window, becoming extension-eligible in January. Proceeding down that path, GM Trent Baalke confirmed Thursday (via NFL.com’s Cameron Wolfe) the team has begun Lawrence extension talks.

Baalke said earlier this offseason “no doubt” existed the team would extend Lawrence at some point. It may not be a lock that happens this offseason; exercising Lawrence’s fifth-year option will buy the Jags some time. That said, a host of QBs have inked their first extensions before Year 4.

Since Ryan Tannehill‘s Dolphins re-up in 2015, 11 more QBs — Russell Wilson, Derek Carr, Carson Wentz, Jared Goff, Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, Josh Allen, Kyler Murray, Jalen Hurts, Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow — have signed extensions before their fourth seasons. Not having a deal done in this timeframe has been the exception, with the promise of a monster guarantee — rather than playing a fourth year on a rookie salary — factoring in prominently here.

This would be a new chapter for the Jags, who have seen their two other first-round QBs chosen in the slot-system era (Blaine Gabbert, Blake Bortles) not prove worthy of a big-ticket extension.

Lawrence, 24, is the only member of five-first-rounder 2021 QB contingent who is a lock to be the 2024 starter for the team that drafted him. Trey Lance has been traded, while Zach Wilson has been granted permission to find a trade partner. Justin Fields will probably be on the move soon, and Mac Jones‘ future in New England is murky. That said, Lawrence has not yet distinguished himself as a top-tier passer despite generational prospect status back in ’21.

After a late-season Lawrence surge drove the Jaguars to the 2022 playoffs and a historic wild-card comeback, the Clemson product ranked 17th in QBR last season — a 9-8 Jacksonville showing. Lawrence, whose INT count spiked from eight to 14 from 2022-23, did battle through extensive injury trouble last year. Ankle and knee sprains did not end up sidelining the durable QB last season, but a Week 16 AC joint injury — during a woeful performance in Tampa — shelved him in Week 17. The Titans then upset the Jaguars to end their playoff push in Week 18.

The Dolphins waited a year before talking a Tua Tagovailoa extension; those talks are taking place this offseason. Far more significant injury issues clouded Tagovailoa’s future going into last season, whereas Lawrence has missed just one career game. The former national championship-winning QB did effectively go through a lost rookie season, with the Urban Meyer experiment backfiring spectacularly. That could lead to this Jags regime pressing pause. But with talks already beginning, the prospect of a Lawrence contract topping $50MM per year — a price that obviously will change the Jags’ roster-building blueprint — coming to pass this year is in play.

Jaguars GM Trent Baalke On QB Trevor Lawrence

Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence, who now has three years of service time under his belt, is eligible for a contract extension. Our Sam Robinson, however, suggested at the end of December that Jacksonville may wait to enter into extension talks with the former No. 1 overall pick, who did not take the leap forward that many had anticipated when the 2023 season began. Jags GM Trent Baalke did not put a timetable on those dicussions, but he did imply that a new deal for Lawrence is not exactly at the top of the agenda at the moment.

“As far as Trevor and the long-term relationship with this team, there’s no doubt in that,” Baalke said at a press conference on Thursday (via Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk). “We’re going to get something done at the appropriate time.”

The Jaguars will surely exercise Lawrence’s fifth-year option sometime before the May 2 deadline. That will lock in a fully-guaranteed salary of $21.98MM for the 2025 season, and when combined with the $1.06MM salary he is due to make in 2024, Jacksonville essentially has Lawrence under club control for two more years at an $11.5MM AAV. Even if the Clemson product is not yet a top tier signal-caller, that qualifies as excellent value.

When asked to assess Lawrence’s performance in 2023 and how to improve his production moving foreard, Baalke said, “I think Trevor had another learning year, right? Like we all do when we’re a third-year guy in this league. I think there are some areas he made great strides in. You look at this season, one thing we’ve got to do is we’ve got to — two things, it works both ways — we’ve got to do a better job of keeping him safe and protected and he’s got to do a better job of protecting himself.”

Baalke referenced the myriad injuries that Lawrence faced in his third year in the league, including a concussion, a knee sprain, an ankle sprain, and a sprained AC joint. Although Lawrence was able to play through the first three of those ailments, they certainly affected his performance, and the sprained AC joint forced him to sit out Jacksonville’s Week 17 contest against the Panthers. That was the first game that Lawrence had missed in his career.

In his final four games of the 2023 campaign, Lawrence failed to post a quarterback rating above 83.9 and completed 60% of his passes for seven touchdowns and seven interceptions. Jacksonville lost all four of those contests, including a Week 18 matchup with the 5-11 Titans that was meaningless for Tennessee but that would have put the Jaguars in the playoffs as AFC South champions if they had won it. In all, the Jags lost five of their last six games to drop them from contention for the conference’s top seed to a postseason non-participant (the only game the club won in that stretch was the Week 17 contest that Lawrence missed).

Now 24, Lawrence still has time to live up to the vast potential that made him such a coveted prospect when he entered the professional ranks. It may even be fair to write off his rookie season in 2021, which was spent primarily under the disastrous stewardship of then-HC Urban Meyer. Nonetheless, Baalke may want to see a step forward in 2024 before making any significant contractual decisions.

In 2023, Lawrence completed 65.6% of his passes for 4,016 yards and 21 TDs against 14 interceptions, good for a QB rating of 88.5. He did run for 339 yards on 70 carries (4.8 YPC), tallying four rushing touchdowns in the process.

Jaguars To Activate WR Christian Kirk

As the Jaguars prepare for a crucial Week 18 matchup against the Titans, the team could be welcoming back a key member of their offense. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Jaguars are planning to activate wide receiver Christian Kirk from injured reserve. Kirk returned to practice earlier this week.

Kirk underwent core muscle surgery only a month ago, but the Jaguars are planning to activate him after a minimum stay on injured reserve. While the wideout is expected to join the active roster, Rapoport cautions that Kirk is still listed as questionable and will be a game-time decision tomorrow.

“I’m feeling better day by day and just kind of taking it from that standpoint right now,” Kirk said this week (via the team’s website). “I’m just trying to progress every day and do the best that I can to get out there if I can.”

After putting up career-best numbers during his first season in Jacksonville, Kirk has continued his production into 2023. He’s actually increased his receiving yards per game (65.2 to 65.6), receiving success rate (52.6 to 57.6), and catch percentage (63.2 to 67.1), and in his 12 appearances, he’d hauled in 57 catches for 787 yards and three scores. Pro Football Focus has graded him 45th among 125 qualifying wide receivers this season, with the site also giving him a top-15 positional grade for his pass blocking.

Zay Jones has been sidelined for two of Kirk’s four missed games, forcing the Jaguars to lean on their depth behind Calvin Ridley. Tim Jones, Parker Washington, Elijah Cooks, and Jamal Agnew have all seen an increase in snaps over the past few weeks.

While Kirk’s availability will need to be watched, much of the focus in Jacksonville will surround the status of Trevor Lawrence. After missing the first start of his career last weekend, the quarterback practiced on Wednesday for the first time since suffering a sprained AC joint on Christmas Eve.

Jaguars Activate OT Cam Robinson From IR

The Jaguars won’t have Trevor Lawrence under center against the Panthers tomorrow, but the team will welcome back their star offensive lineman. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports that the Jaguars are activating left tackle Cam Robinson from injured reserve. In a corresponding move, the Jaguars have waived lineman Chandler Brewer (per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston).

[RELATED: Jaguars Rule Out QB Trevor Lawrence For Week 17]

After landing on injured reserve in November thanks to a knee injury, Robinson returned to Jaguars practice earlier this week. That opened the veteran’s 21-day activation window, and despite receiving an initial recovery timeline of up to six weeks, the Jaguars were confident in adding him to the active roster when first eligible.

The former second-round pick has spent his entire career in Jacksonville, starting all 82 of his regular-season appearances. Robinson missed the first four games of this season while serving a suspension for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy, but he started each of the next seven games for Jacksonville. Pro Football Focus only has Robinson ranked 48th among 84 qualifying offensive tackles this season, but he is graded 12th at the position for pass blocking.

The Jaguars offensive line has struggled mightily this season, allowing 154 pressures…only 10 of which have been attributed to Robinson. While Lawrence won’t immediately benefit from the lineman’s return, there’s hope that the franchise QB will be back in the lineup for the regular-season finale.

Brewer spent most of this season on Jacksonville’s practice squad. He got into only one game following his November promotion, playing exclusively on special teams. The former UDFA spent the first few seasons of his career with the Rams, starting four of his 13 appearances.

Jaguars Rule Out QB Trevor Lawrence For Week 17

Trevor Lawrence has played through knee and high ankle sprains this season, and the former No. 1 overall pick navigated concussion protocol to return last week. But the Jaguars quarterback’s iron-man start to his career will stop Sunday.

The Jags ruled out their starter for their Week 17 game against the Panthers. Lawrence is battling a sprained AC joint that forced him out of a Week 16 blowout loss to the Buccaneers. Despite the Jags’ recent swoon, they will not rush their franchise QB back to work. C.J. Beathard will take the reins against Carolina.

This comes at a crucial point for Jacksonville, which has lost its past three games to drop to 8-7 and into a three-way tie for first place in the AFC South. The losses have come after Lawrence suffered an ugly-looking injury against the Bengals, and while he made a surprising recovery in time to play through that high ankle sprain, his performance has suffered since that Monday-night sequence. The Bucs ran up a big lead on the Jags before Lawrence left the game due to his new shoulder injury.

Lawrence, 24, never missed a game due to injury at Clemson, either. The 2021 top pick missed two contests as a junior due to COVID-19. This AC joint issue will stop his 49-start streak in the NFL. Lawrence has not practiced this week. The Jags will rely on Beathard, in his third season with the team, to keep them afloat in the AFC playoff race.

While the much-hyped young talent has enjoyed moments that remind of his draft stock this season, it has not brought the breakthrough many expected. The Jaguars handing the play-calling reins to OC Press Taylor, after Doug Pederson called the shots last season, has produced a slight dip — from 10th to 13th — in both total and scoring offense. DVOA slots the Jags’ offense 15th; Lawrence ranks 13th in QBR. The 6-foot-6 signal-caller has thrown 12 interceptions and ranks third among QBs this season with 12 fumbles; he lost seven of those. Eight of Lawrence’s 19 turnovers have come in the past three games.

The Jaguars will have the opportunity to extend Lawrence in 2024, but with the fifth-year option allowing them to push his rookie contract through 2025, it is possible the team could press pause due to his rocky third season. Lawrence will still enter the 2024 season as the unquestioned Jags QB1, but the team has not taken off like many assumed it would following a late-season surge that culminated with the 27-point playoff rally.

Beathard, 30, has signed two contracts with the Jags. The Urban Meyer-year investment re-signed — on a two-year, $4.5MM deal — this offseason. The former third-round pick has not made a start since Week 17 of the 2020 season, a 273-yard showing in a narrow 49ers loss to the Seahawks. For his career, Beathard has made 12 starts; the 49ers went 2-10 in those games. He is a career 59.9% passer (6.9 yards per attempt).

Not only is Beathard now a central figure in the Jaguars’ hopes to repeat as division champions for the first time since the late 1990s, the 2-13 Panthers suddenly have a better chance to win — a development that could affect the 2024 draft order.

Jaguars Sign QB Matt Barkley Off Giants’ Practice Squad

Dealing with yet another injury this season, Trevor Lawrence is not a lock to play in a pivotal Week 17 spot. Although the former No. 1 overall pick has continued to play through his myriad health issues this year, the Jags now have some additional insurance at quarterback.

They signed Matt Barkley off the Giants’ practice squad Tuesday. Because Barkley is being plucked from another team’s P-squad, he must remain on the Jags’ active roster for at least three weeks. The Jags’ prospects of extending their season into the playoffs have suddenly become foggy, but Barkley will be part of Jacksonville’s 53-man roster for the regular season’s remainder.

This is team No. 11 for Barkley, who came off the 2013 draft board 98th overall. The Jaguars were the team that traded the Eagles that pick, moving down three spots 10 years ago. Barkley has not played for all 10 of his previous teams — the Eagles, Cardinals, Bears, 49ers, Bengals, Bills, Titans, Panthers, Falcons and Giants — but is perhaps Josh Johnson‘s chief competition for the top spot among active QB journeymen.

The Giants added Barkley to their practice squad in late October, following Tyrod Taylor‘s rib injury, and bumped him up to their 53-man roster in the wake of Daniel Jones‘ ACL tear. Taylor has since returned, and Barkley did not factor into the team’s plans with both Taylor and Tommy DeVito on the active roster.

Succeeding Mark Sanchez as USC’s starter and starting four seasons with the Pac-12 program, Barkley has managed to play 11 NFL seasons without ever being viewed as a team’s preferred starter. Barkley, 33, has not seen game action since 2020 with the Bills. A Josh Allen backup for multiple seasons, Barkley did not make Buffalo’s 53-man roster this summer. Six of Barkley’s seven career starts came for the 2016 Bears, who had lost Jay Cutler for the season.

Lawrence has battled through a knee sprain, an ugly-looking high ankle sprain and a concussion this season. The 2021 No. 1 overall pick now has a sprained AC joint, per Doug Pederson. The injury led Lawrence out of a Week 16 blowout loss in Tampa, and the Jags have plummeted to 8-7. While Lawrence has never missed a game as a pro, he has seen injuries impact him significantly this season.

The Jags, who played their Week 16 game without wideouts Christian Kirk and Zay Jones, have C.J. Beathard in line to start if Lawrence cannot go. Barkley would be in line to back up Beathard in that event. E.J. Perry remains on Jacksonville’s practice squad. To make room for Barkley on the 53-man roster, the Jags placed backup safety Daniel Thomas on IR.

Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence Clears Concussion Protocol

Trevor Lawrence has overcome a major hurdle as he looks to play in tomorrow’s matchup against the Buccaneers. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Jaguars quarterback has cleared concussion protocol and will travel will the team to Tampa. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo is a bit more pointed in his report, definitively stating that the Jaguars will “get their franchise QB back” for tomorrow’s game.

Lawrence suffered the concussion last weekend but finished the eventual loss to the Ravens. He reported concussion symptoms after the game, landing him in concussion protocol. The QB returned to practice yesterday but his status for Sunday was still unknown. Coach Doug Pederson told reporters that Lawrence wouldn’t start if he couldn’t clear concussion protocols by this morning, and it was believed the quarterback’s status was truly 50/50. If Lawrence didn’t play, backup C.J. Beathard would have earned his first start of the season.

“Most guys, if you don’t clear, usually by Friday, then you can’t risk putting a guy on the field this close to game time,” Pederson said yesterday (via ESPN’s Michael DiRocco). “That’s any player, so just take the position out of it. But he is trending in the right direction, and then hopefully things go well today.”

The Jaguars can now count on the former first-overall pick to be under center in a crucial matchup. Lawrence has battled through both knee and ankle issues this season, but he’s still managed to start every game for the Jaguars. The quarterback has helped guide his squad to an 8-6 record while completing 65.9 percent of his passes for 3,525 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.

Lawrence hasn’t missed a game during his three years in the NFL, and he’ll now be able to extend his streak to 49 games. That’s the second-longest active streak among quarterbacks, tied with Patrick Mahomes and trailing Josh Allen (85).

Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence In Concussion Protocol

Once again, Trevor Lawrence‘s health is a question mark in advance of Jacksonville’s next game. The team’s franchise passer is in concussion protocol, head coach Doug Pederson said after Sunday’s loss.

Pederson added (via ESPN’s Michael DiRocco) Lawrence is believed to have suffered the head injury during one of three scrambles on Jacksonville’s final drive against the Ravens. Now, attention will turn to his ability to clear the league’s protocol within a one-week timeframe, something which does not happen often. In the event he does miss the Jaguars’ upcoming game against the Buccaneers, it will be Lawrence’s first absence in his NFL career.

The 2021 No. 1 pick has dealt with knee and, more recently, ankle injuries this season. Lawrence managed to play in Week 14 despite suffering a high ankle sprain which forced him to leave the game the week prior, and Sunday’s contest marked his healthiest point of the season in some time from a mobility standpoint. Now, however, Jacksonville faces the distinct possibility of relying on backup C.J. Beathard in a crucial late-season matchup.

Having lost three straight, the Jaguars find themselves in a three-way tie atop the AFC South. The Colts and Texans both won in Week 15, bringing their records to 8-6. After once appearing to be a lock to win the division, therefore, there is still plenty at stake to close out the season for Jacksonville. Beathard has made five appearances this season and 11 in total in his three years in Duval County,

The 30-year-old has not started a game since 2020, however, and he has attempted just 27 passes in that span. Beathard completed nine of 10 passes for 63 scoreless yards while also fumbling in relief of Lawrence during the Jags’ overtime loss to the Bengals. He will look to improve on that outing if he does indeed get the nod in Week 16. Third-stringer Nathan Rourke – who was waived over the weekend but could be retained on the practice squad – would be in line to serve as the backup in the event Lawrence were unable to clear concussion protocol over the next several days.

Trevor Lawrence To Start In Week 14

DECEMBER 10: Trending upward throughout the week, Lawrence will complete a surprisingly quick recovery effort by starting Sunday. The Jaguars will have their QB1 in the lineup against the Browns, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. The Jags have since announced Lawrence will get the call, continuing a streak of availability to start his NFL career.

DECEMBER 8: Despite exiting Monday night’s game severely hobbled, Trevor Lawrence is firmly in play to avoid missing a game. The Jaguars quarterback, who has never missed a game during his three-year NFL career, practiced in a limited capacity for the second time this week.

Missing practice Wednesday, Lawrence moved well on his injured ankle Thursday, per Doug Pederson (via ESPN’s Michael DiRocco). The Jaguars have listed their franchise centerpiece as questionable for their Week 14 game against the Browns. Jacksonville has deemed the former No. 1 overall pick a game-time decision.

Considering the visual Monday night, Lawrence having a chance to play six days later is rather surprising. But he has played through issues before. The Clemson product returned from an October knee injury on a short week, playing with a sleeve on his sprained knee during a Thursday-night win against the Saints.

While this high ankle sprain represents a more serious threat to Lawrence’s availability, he has demonstrated early-career durability. Patrick Mahomes also showed how quickly a quarterback can return from this injury last season, when he went down against the Jaguars in the divisional round. Though, a report earlier this week detailed Lawrence’s precise injury and the uphill battle associated with it.

The Jags would start C.J. Beathard, who re-signed this offseason, should they exercise caution with Lawrence. Beathard is not on the team’s injury report after suffering a shoulder setback Monday night. The team’s three-season backup, Beathard last started a game for the 49ers in 2020.

The Week 13 loss to the Bengals dropped the Jaguars to 8-4, behind the Chiefs (due to the defending champs’ head-to-head win in Week 2) in the AFC playoff picture. Lawrence returning so soon would certainly help the team as it attempts to keep the AFC South lead and win back-to-back division titles for the first time since it claimed AFC Central crowns in 1998 and ’99. The Colts and Texans are each a game back of the Jags in the division.

Trevor Lawrence Suffers High Ankle Sprain

DECEMBER 6: It probably goes without saying that Lawrence will need to show significant improvement to play in Week 14, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport detailed during a Good Morning Football appearance this sprain has affected the ligament connecting the tibia to the fibula. The third-year QB faces an uphill battle to be ready for the Jaguars-Browns matchup, though it still represents good news for the Jags that Lawrence playing Sunday is even a consideration after the scene Monday.

DECEMBER 5: The Jaguars suffered an upset loss Monday night, but the key takeaway from the game was the injury suffered by quarterback Trevor Lawrence. He was forced to leave the contest and did not return, leading to questions about the length of time he will miss as a result.

Lawrence is believed to have suffered a high ankle sprain, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. His colleague Cameron Wolfe adds the former No. 1 pick was using crutches and a walking boot as he exited the stadium after the game.

A Tuesday MRI does not appear to have produced a diagnosis that would threaten Lawrence’s season, with The Athletic’s Jeff Howe indicating the third-year QB will attempt an aggressive rehab program with the intent of playing in Week 14 against the Browns. Though, it is still too early to know if the Jags will have their starter back so soon after he limped off the field Monday night.

Lawrence could still be in line to miss at least some time, something which would deal a major blow to Jacksonville’s offense and the team’s bid to maintain its lead atop the AFC South. Monday’s loss dropped the Jaguars to 8-4, just one game ahead of the Texans and Colts. Lawrence has yet to miss a start in his NFL career.

The 24-year-old endured a forgettable rookie season during Urban Meyer‘s brief time as the Jaguars’ head coach, but he took a step forward last season while leading the team to the divisional round of the postseason. Expectations were high entering 2023, the second year with Doug Pederson at the helm. Lawrence and the offense have shown flashes during the campaign, but overall the unit has put up middling numbers in a number of categories. Lawrence has thrown no more than two touchdowns in any contest this season, surpassing 275 passing yards four times so far.

Still, the Clemson alum remains the focal point of an offense which has not managed to run the ball consistently. Jacksonville sits 22nd in the NFL with an average of 103 yards per game on the ground, so leaning increasingly on Travis Etienne may not produce an effective counterbalance to Lawrence missing time. Provided the latter is sidelined for any of the Jaguars’ remaining contests, veteran C.J. Beathard will likely be relied upon under center.

Beathard finished yesterday’s game, his 11th total appearance with Jacksonville dating back to 2021. The 30-year-old has not started a game since the end of his 49ers tenure in 2020, however. When speaking after the game, Pederson admitted a timeline for Lawrence’s absence is currently unknown while expressing support for Beathard (via ESPN’s Michael DiRocco) if he is thrust into a starting role down the stretch. Jacksonville also has Nathan Rourke – who joined the team this offseason after an impressive stint in the CFL which drew the attention of several interested teams – available on the QB depth chart.