Coming off a pair of underwhelming seasons, Trevor Lawrence is poised to bounce back and help the Jacksonville Jaguars make the playoffs in 2025. However, there's a chance he fails to come through, and if that's the case, a former NFL general manager just offered the Jags a baffling suggestion to replace the former Clemson Tiger next year.
Ex-New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum joined a roundtable on ESPN where several analysts discussed whether Lawrence was under pressure to deliver in 2025. Along the way, he suggested the Jags bring in an aging veteran to replace him if he struggles.
Mike Tannenbaum makes a wild QB pitch to the Jaguars
Mike Tannenbaum said on Get Up that he believes the Jaguars should consider drafting a quarterback next year if Trevor Lawrence doesn't show notable improvement in 2025, noting that his biggest issue has been his unrefined fundamentals.
"Yeah, and I'll push back on that, because Dan talked about his mental mindset. I think it's much more about his fundamentals," Tannenbaum told his ESPN colleagues (11:42 mark). "He was coached by Doug Pederson. Doug Pederson knows how to coach quarterbacks. he was 60.6 percent completion percent, which was 31st in the NFL. He was 29th in completion above expectation. That's not good enough for somebody that's that good."
Tanennbaum continued, "And Doug Pederson is a fundamental base quarterback. So to me, this is about his fundamentals more than anything. I know he was hurt last year. I think he's got a little bit of a free pass. I know he has guaranteed money next year, greedy, but not me. It's getting late early. If I'm Liam ocen and their new general manager, I'm thinking about drafting a quarterback if we don't see meaningful improvement."
Later in the exchange, Tannenbaum was made aware that the Jags don't have a first-round pick in 2026, so he goes on to suggest they sign or trade for Kirk Cousins next year if Lawrence doesn't show improvement in 2025.
"Maybe it's Kirk Cousins. I don't know who it is, but to me, if he doesn't play well, and I'm Liam Coen, just because he has guaranteed money next year, that doesn't mean..." Tannenbaum said.
Cousins was drafted by the Washington Commanders in 2012 to be the backup to Robert Griffin III. He played well enough when thrust into action that he became the full-time starter in 2015. The former Michigan State product was traded to the Minnesota Vikings in 2019. And after six seasons, he landed with the Atlanta Falcons, where he's dealt with injuries and hasn't seen much playing time.
Related: It took Trevor Lawrence 2 drives to show he can lead a comeback
The pitch to the Jaguars to replace Trevor Lawrence with Kirk Cousins doesn't make sense
For the sake of transparency, Mike Tannenbaum isn't outright saying the Jaguars should go ahead and target Kirk Cousins but rather brought him up as a possibility to replace Trevor Lawrence. Either way, it was still baffling to even consider the possibility of replacing No. 16 with Cousins, who is past his prime.
Maybe if this were 2016, the pitch would make more sense. But it's 2025, and Cousins appears to be closer to the end of his NFL career than the beginning. And this isn't to say that the Jaguars shouldn't consider outside alternatives if Lawrence struggles this upcoming season.
However, Lawrence is trending in the right direction under Liam Coenhis, and there's a strong chance that he'll bounce back and even re-join the top-10 quarterback conversation. Sure, his mechanics were sluggish last year, but the new Jaguars head coach has been working with him to fix them.
If that wasn't enough, Lawrence's current supporting cast is arguably the best one he's had in his career. Aside from playing behind a beefed-up offensive line, the Knoxville, Tennessee native will throw passes to budding star Brian Thomas Jr., two-way star Travis Hunter, Parker Washington, and Dyami Brown.
Simply put, Trevor Lawrence is in a position to help the Jaguars get back on track. And on the off chance he doesn't, don't expect Liam Coen to replace him with Kirk Cousins in 2026.
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