While he’s in line to become one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL, Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence isn’t necessarily pressing to get a new deal done with the Jaguars at the moment.
He trusts his team of representatives to reach a fair agreement with Jacksonville’s front office as the two sides continue negotiating a long-term contract extension, an expected move that has nonetheless been subject to ample outside speculation throughout the offseason.
“Obviously I’m aware of what’s going on, but I try to keep my focus on doing my job out here,” Lawrence told reporters on Monday. “I have full belief that’ll take care of itself and that’s not something that I need to worry about. That’s why I pay people and hire people to do that for me.”
Talks between Jaguars management and Lawrence’s representatives have persisted since the No. 1 overall pick from the 2021 NFL draft became eligible to sign an extension in March.
Since, Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke and head coach Doug Pederson have offered assurances that the team is hard at work to strike a deal. Shad Khan and Jacksonville’s ownership team are involved in the negotiations, Baalke revealed in April.
“I know Trent and [Lawrence’s] agent, they’ve continued to talk and will talk,” Pederson said in May. “They’re working hard and tirelessly. I’ve just got to coach Trevor, coach football, and hopefully it gets done, and it will.”
Lawrence is similarly confident that a contract will be worked out, and he acknowledged his preference for it to be accomplished before training camp in July. He doesn’t consider that timeline to be strict or required, however.
“I think that would be ideal just to put it behind us and keep moving and feel good about that going into training camp,” Lawrence admitted.
“But either way, like I’ve said before, I have the same job so I can’t always control all those factors. I have the same job to do either way.”
Lawrence has honed in on his job this offseason as Jacksonville eyes a return to the postseason in 2024, after being eliminated from playoff contention in Week 18 of the 2023 campaign.
The Jaguars opened the year 8-3 before winning just one of their final six matchups. Lawrence was hobbled by multiple injuries during the ending stretch, including a high-ankle sprain, an A/C joint sprain in his throwing shoulder and a concussion.
Between the Jaguars’ AFC Divisional Round run in 2022 and the first 11 games of 2023, Lawrence tossed for 6,859 yards, 39 touchdowns and 15 interceptions, adding eight rushing touchdowns. The Jaguars went 17-11 in that span.
Confident entering his third season under Pederson and motivated by last season’s conclusion, per his head coach, Lawrence appears out to prove he’s worth the contract he’s expected to receive simply by playing winning football with the Jaguars this year.
“I try to keep all my focus and energy on being the best player I can be to help us win,” said Lawrence.
