The Jacksonville Jaguars would like Trevor Lawrence to play loose and not worry about making mistakes. This is understandable when you take into account that he's failed to put it together in Year 5. And although he still has time to flip the switch this season, No. 16 hasn't done enough to put an end to questions about his future in Jacksonville.
Working in Lawrence's favor is that head coach Liam Coen has stood firmly by his side in spite of his inconsistent play. However, a former Jaguars player doesn't believe the fifth-year quarterback will stick around after 2025, based on how he's played thus far.
Cecil Shorts III believes the Jaguars will cut ties with Trevor Lawrence
Cecil Shorts III says that it may not be reasonable to ask Trevor Lawrence to let it rip when he's entering the third offensive system in his career, noting that a fresh start somewhere else may be the best for the 2021 first overall pick.
"This is his, what? Third head coach? Yeah, this is his third different offensive system. How can you be comfortable in something you're just getting into?" Shorts said during an appearance on 1010 XL. "From a player standpoint, it's hard to let it rip and let it loose, like you mentioned, all the stuff that's being said about you, but you're also still learning the offense. You're still learning how to get comfortable in this particular offense. You're still trying to throw the ball to guys who are dropping the ball consistently."
Shorts continued, "You're still trying to throw the ball down the field and find guys that are open, and you got pressure. I mean, you how many times you've been sat the last four games? It's a lot that goes into it. I'll be honest with you, it might be a situation where I wouldn't be surprised if they move on by the end of the year, just because he has not lived up to what he's supposed to live up to. Not that he's a bad player, but sometimes I'm looking at Sam Darnold, a fresh start somewhere else could be the best thing for him."
While Shorts acknowledges that Lawrence deserves some blame for not living up to expectations, he makes the case that he's dealt a bad hand throughout his stint with the Jags.
"And I hate to look at that in a way, because it's still midseason. You still trying to make the playoffs, make this push, but I'm just thinking big picture here, it's hard for Trevor because of all the adversity he went through his first, whatever amount of years. On top of his injuries and his mishaps, I'm not taking anything away from him. I'm not trying to not hold him accountable," Short said.
"But we call it what it is, it's a lot that he has to go through with different coaches, different terminology, different reads, different quarterback coaches saying this thing and that thing and this thing and that thing, and it changes every couple years, because you get it every couple years you get a new coach."
As Shorts noted, Lawrence has had three full-time head coaches since the Jags drafted him in 2021. To make matters worse, his supporting cast has routinely left much to be desired, and it's fair to wonder what he could do if he were put in a position to succeed.
Trevor Lawrence needs to do more to ensure he remains with the Jaguars
Trevor Lawrence has shown progress under Liam Coen, but probably not enough as the Jaguars would like. Then again, his receivers have struggled with drops, and the offensive line can't block. When you add it all up, it's easy to see the team's brass sticking with Lawrence for at least another year after 2025.
Another thing that would make it difficult for Jacksonville to move on from Lawrence in 2026 is that trading him would accelerate a cap charge of $48 million and leave $65 million in dead money. Even if the Jags were able to get a pair of first-round picks for him, they would have very finite resources to address the larger scale roster and put together a solid team around whatever quarterback they brought in to replace Lawrence.
Now, you can never say never, and trading Trevor Lawrence may be the best course of action if the new regime doesn't truly think he's the long-term answer behind center. For the time being, though, the Jaguars are better off sticking to the plan in hopes that he can flip the proverbial switch.