The Jacksonville Jaguars are putting Trevor Lawrence in a position to succeed in 2025. Based on how things have played out the past few months, he may just pull it off. That said, there's a chance that he won't. On the other hand, it's hard to see him play so badly that he'll get benched, but that didn't stop a talking head from coming up with the most baffling take imaginable.
Jon Weiner of The Dan Le Batard Show believes Lawrence will be benched by Week 7. The issue isn't the take itself. The problem is that he lacks a reasonable argument.
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Why it's unrealistic to expect the jaguars to bench Trevor Lawrence
Jon Weiner had an exchange with Chris Simms of CBS Sports and drew up a list of NFL quarterbacks that will be benched by Week 7 of the regular season. His reasoning? All these signal-callers may have looked bad in the preseason opener.
The issue with this premise is that Trevor Lawrence only played one series for the Jaguars in Week 1 of the preseason and went 6-of-7. So basically, Weiner is saying that No. 16 will be benched because he missed one throw?
Sure, Lawrence is coming off a pair of injury-plagued seasons, but to suggest that he'll be phased out is puzzling, especially when you take into account that he's made promises through training camp and has shown that he's capable of playing at a top-10 level.
Simms, for his part, came to the former Clemson Tigers' defense, pointing out that he believes the fifth-year quarterback will bounce back in 2025.
"Liam Coen was brought there because of Trevor Lawrence, first pick, ton of money. Like you said before, he hasn't lived up to expectations," Simms told Weiner (7:24 mark). "That's one where if it did happen, I'd have a hard time thinking it happens Week 7 or before, right? And from what I saw there, I think he's going to prove you wrong. I think he is. I think he's going to shove it where the sun doesn't shine on you, Stugotz, and I'm expecting a good year for Trevor Lawrence."
In a different video, Simms said that he was pleased with Lawrence's performance in the season opener, so he's at least been consistent.
But leaving aside that the idea of benching Lawrence is comical, what would the Jaguars do if it happened? Would they legitimately turn to journeyman Nick Mullens? The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback is most definitely a solid backup, but not much.
On the off chance Lawrence does struggle and fails to live up to expectations in 2025, the Jaguars would address the quarterback situation until next year.
Ultimately, the prospect of Trevor Lawrence faltering next season shouldn't be ruled out. That said, he's trending in the right direction, and nobody should bat an eye if he ends up playing like a top-10 quarterback and helps the Jaguars make the playoffs.
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