Jaguars HC Doug Pederson talks protecting Trevor Lawrence, keeping Etienne fresh in 2024
Trevor Lawrence must be protected at all costs.
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson made it clear Monday at the NFL's Annual Meetings that the team has to make sure Lawrence is protected moving forward after the QB suffered four notable injuries throughout the year, ultimately missing numerous days of practice and one game last season.
"Our number one thing though is to keep Trevor [QB Trevor Lawrence] healthy, our best chance of winning games is keeping Trevor healthy," Pederson said earlier this week, unprompted when asked about the team's outlook after free agency.
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Lawrence suffered knee, ankle, shoulder and head injuries during various parts of the season last year. During the last few weeks of the year, Lawrence rarely did much on the practice field, especially during the media availability portions of practice.
Ultimately, since suffering an ankle injury against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 13, Lawrence practiced in full just three times in 18 opportunities. He did not participate entirely on six occasions, practicing limited on the other nine practice opportunities.
Following the team's Week 16 loss to the Buccaneers, Lawrence said the product on the field the Jaguars were showing to the nation looked as if they didn't practice at all. Well, Lawrence didn't, and that was part of the problem and something Pederson and general manager Trent Baalke are working to correct moving forward.
“Obviously, nobody wants to get hurt and everybody is trying to make plays on the field. We just have to make surehe is throwing the ball away or protecting himself, whatever he can do," Pederson said when asked if Lawrence could help himself when it came to injuries.
"Some of it, the Indy one, he was rolling out on a play and he got tackled from behind and hurt himself there. The head stuff, we can help him with that, just throwing the ball away and different things. He can do it himself, but at the same time, we need as a staff to make sure we are helping him do that.”
Lawrence suffered a knee injury late during the team's Week 6 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. He played the following Thursday.
The Jaguars invested money in left guard Ezra Cleveland, re-worked right guard Brandon Scherff's contract and brought in center Mitch Morse to help bolster the team's offensive line with continuity and strength in mind.
Lawrence's toughness has never been questioned. His ability to overcome bumps, bruises and worse was one of the hallmarks of the team's season, until the collapse ensued and the injuries began the pile up.
Pederson hopes improved run game will help Lawrence, keep Travis Etienne fresh moving forward
Part of the issue last season in Jacksonville was the team's inability to run the football. In the final six games of the season, the Jaguars averaged just 79 yards per game on the ground and that's with a 155-yard performance during the team's Week 17 shutout victory over the Carolina Panthers.
For reference, the Cincinnati Bengals posted the worst yards per game average on the ground last season, averaging just 89.8 YPG on the ground. The Jaguars finished 23rd overall with 96.8 YPG through 17 games.
A couple of additions, including receiver Gabe Davis and Morse, should help the team's ground attack, but keeping the entire offensive line healthy for more than one game is another hurdle the team will have to jump over.
"That helps your quarterback. You’ve got to be able to run the ball in this league as well. It sets up a lot of different things for you. So that’s something as a staff we’ve been focused on this offseason," Pederson said.
"[Left tackle] Cam [Robinson] missed eight games. Our left guard was a revolving door early in the season. If you look at it, Week 18 was kind of that snapshot of our what the offensive line was supposed to look like with Cam, [OL] Ezra [Cleveland], [OL] Luke [Fortner], [OL] Brandon [Scherff] and [OL] Anton [Harrison]," Pederson said, mentioning again that the starting five played just one game together.
Part of the Jaguars' plan in the run game is getting second-year back Tank Bigsby involved more.
Last year, Bigsby played just 141 snaps, carrying the football 50 times for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Bigsby fumbled the football twice throughout the year and was in the middle of a couple of flukey turnovers that ultimately left him on the bench for much of the season.
In fact, through a five-game stretch in Weeks 12-16, Bigsby totaled just six offensive snaps, including zero in the team's 30-12 loss to the Buccaneers in Week 16.
Pederson says that'll have to change.
“We have to get Tank going, the bottom line. He is too good, that’s why we drafted him. I think early he had some ‘what is that’ type plays for whatever reason right or wrong. Again, in and out of the lineup," said Pederson.
"He is a young player that we’re excited about. Like we talked about last year, we take some burden off of Etienne [RB Travis Etienne Jr.] a little bit, keep him healthy for the remainder of the season.”
Etienne played 856 offensive snaps (73%) last season. He totaled 325 touches, up from 255 a year prior. His 325 total touches ranked third in the league last year behind Tampa Bay's Rachaad White (336) and San Francisco's Christian McCaffrey (339).
Moving forward, expect the Jaguars to continue bolstering the team's ground attack through the draft, while also supplying Lawrence with all the tools he needs to be successful.
Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Demetrius82.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Pederson shares offseason edict: protect Lawrence, improve ground game
