Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence agrees to terms on five-year, $275 million contract extension

Unlike Burrow, Lawrence’s outlook isn’t quite as trustworthy, at least from a football perspective.

Lawrence’s journey to this point hasn’t been as smooth as most hoped when Jacksonville spent the No. 1 overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft on him. His entire rookie season was essentially derailed by the dysfunction created by his first coach, Urban Meyer, whom the Jaguars fired after 13 games.

Doug Pederson helped Lawrence get back on track in 2022, and a second-half sprint — including seven wins in the Jaguars’ final nine games — led to a 9-8 finish that earned Jacksonville a trip to the playoffs for the first time since the 2017 season. Lawrence became the face of the franchise during this run, completing 69.7% of his passes for 2,273 yards and a 15-2 TD-INT ratio, seemingly completing his coming-out party with a frantic comeback win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Super Wild Card Weekend.

The potential that followed Lawrence from Clemson to the NFL was finally being realized.

But 2023 wasn’t the same story. Jacksonville consistently lost on the margins, and Lawrence’s numbers suffered accordingly, finishing with fewer touchdowns, a lower passer rating and more interceptions in 2023 than he did in 2022. Instead of sprinting to the playoffs, the Jaguars collapsed down the backstretch of the campaign, leaving the door open for the new darling of the AFC South — Houston’s C.J. Stroud — to steal their playoff spot.