The Jacksonville Jaguars restarted their journey towards improving their three-win record from last season on Monday as training camp kicked off. A key part of that will be whether or not Trevor Lawrence can take another step, and with new coach Doug Pederson helping him, it’s certainly a strong possibility.
After Day 1’s session, Lawrence was asked about how much his motivation was amped up by the season he had as a rookie. In the process of answering that, he discussed a personal goal of his, which was to show the organization that he’s everything they thought he’d be. He also discussed some motivating factors for the team
“Individually, personally, I want to prove that I belong here and that I’m the player I believe that I am, that the organization believes I am,” Lawrence said. “As a team, I think we have a lot to prove. We didn’t have a great season last year, and I know the guys in this locker room are ready to prove some stuff this year. That motivation and just having this new opportunity, having a clean slate, everybody starts at the bottom, and having your chance to work your way up—that’s the special opportunity we got this year. We’ve got a good enough team to win as many games as we want to, we’ve just got to make that decision and be prepared, and we’ll have a good year.”
Lawrence’s rookie season was one that he and the fans wish could’ve gone better as he finished it with a completion percentage under 60 (59.6%) after going 358-of-602 for 3,641 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions. However, he wasn’t playing under normal circumstances with former head coach Urban Meyer proving he wasn’t suited for the NFL or suited to lead NFL players.
One of the positives about Lawrence’s rookie season is that he flashed at times despite the dysfunction around him. The games against Cincinnati, Miami, and the season finale against Indianapolis were a few examples. However, with Pederson by his side and some new weapons like Christian Kirk, Zay Jones, and Evan Ingram, in addition to what they already had, he should be able to favor the player he was at Clemson a lot more.
