QB Trevor Lawrence says he has faith in the Jags being in a better place in 2022
Jacksonville is just one week away from the book being closed in a disastrous 2021 campaign, but Sunday’s game was one of the worst chapters so far. The Jags suffered what ties for their third-worst loss in franchise history, coming up empty against a likely playoff-bound New England Patriots squad in a 50-10 demolition.
Rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence, whose first season has not gone according to plan, had one of his rougher games in a while, throwing three interceptions — though he did toss his first touchdown in five games. Lawrence isn’t playing as well as he could be, but his development has also been sabotaged by institutional incompetence and a patchwork roster that doesn’t give him many weapons to work with.
It would be natural if Lawrence’s frustrations extended to the Jaguars higher-ups, including general manager Trent Baalke, who was promoted from within this past offseason after serving in an interim capacity when the team parted ways with Dave Caldwell. Baalke’s promotion was largely a result of former coach Urban Meyer’s approval, and reports that he will be retained in 2022 are puzzling given his ties to the Meyer regime and past struggles with team building.
However, when asked if he maintains his confidence in Jacksonville’s decision-makers, Lawrence said that he’s remaining focused on his play and has faith in those in charge.
“I’m just trusting who’s in leadership positions,” he said. “At the end of the day, my job is to be a quarterback and to lead this team. I can only do so much, and that’s what I’m going to do. Other than that, I’m just going to put my head down, go to work. I have faith that we are going to come out in a way better spot next year than we are right now. I 100% believe that, and I’m just looking forward to doing that because a lot of these guys deserve it.”
Lawrence set the Jaguars’ franchise record for passing yards on Sunday, beating the mark previously set by Gardner Minshew II in 2019 with 3,418 on the season. But aside from that, it hasn’t been a very memorable year. His completion percentage sits at 58.9%, and he’s only thrown 10 touchdowns compared to 17 interceptions.
Many of his struggles can be blamed on poor receiving play, and one of his interceptions against the Patriots came on a tipped pass. Questionable play-calling all season has also limited his impact, but there wasn’t much clear progress throughout the season, regardless.
The Jags have never had a quarterback prospect like Lawrence, and they must nail the next hire to avoid wasting any more of his developmental years. Turning things around may also require more changes, such as at general manager, but for now, Lawrence seems focused on trying to close the year out with some momentum in the season finale at home against Indianapolis next Sunday.
