It’s Year 4 for Trevor Lawrence in 2024. After three seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars, he’s proven to be its franchise quarterback, and the mental side is where he’s making the strides to evolve.

Last season ended in disappointment at 9-8, narrowly missing the playoffs. Lawrence took a step back from his 2022 season, throwing for 4,016 yards, 21 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

Head coach Doug Pederson was at the NFL’s annual league meeting and discussed what he’s seen from his quarterback. Lawrence is motivated for this contract year, and he’s taking any shortcomings personally now.

“He’s taken, the last two years, our team right there and now we’ve got to push through that. Now it bothers him. That part bothers him. Football bothers him and that’s a good thing. That’s where we’ve got to get him pushing us through that envelope, that wall. The way we ended our season, that’s his motivation too,” Pederson said.

Interceptions were a major issue for Lawrence last season and Pederson noted it, saying the fumbles in the pocket were just as much of an issue. That envelope has to be pushed, but Pederson doesn’t want it to lead to mistakes as “it’s okay to throw the ball away” and Lawrence feels as if he can make every play.

That battle is far easier because of where Lawrence is mentally and Pederson believes he’s still getting his feet wet in NFL pressure games.

“We’ve got to get better as a football player, but mentally he’s in a good place.  Again, I wasn’t here in 2021, so I don’t know, but I can only speculate and say that he couldn’t have been in a very good mental headspace coming out of that year, but now he’s playing meaningful games,” Pederson said.

However the 2024 season goes, it will have a big impact on Lawrence. This is his contract season and he’s guaranteed $5.6 million before being a free agent next summer. If Lawrence delivers a strong season, a large extension could be in pace to make him the Jaguars leader for the far future.

Photo courtesy of Corey Perrine, Florida Times-Union