Trent Baalke: Jaguars Have ‘Started Discussions’ on Trevor Lawrence’s Extension

A year ago, it seemed like a foregone conclusion the Jacksonville Jaguars would extend quarterback Trevor Lawrence during the 2024 offseason. And despite an uneven 2023 season, that option appears to still be on the table. Speaking with NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe during the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke said the early stages of extension talks have begun. “We’ve started discussions. And as you know, those are going to be ongoing, you know. And again, none of this stuff happens overnight. We work diligently between the two parties to try to get something done,” Baalke said.

“You want to keep good football players. That’s the object. You want to draft good football players, you want to keep them, and the more players we get that we bring into the system under our tutelage and can maintain and keep in our system, the better we are going to be.” Lawrence finished the season completing 65.6% of his passes for 4,016 yards, 21 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, along with seven lost fumbles. Lawrence also missed his first career start as he dealt with four different injuries, with Lawrence seemingly having to limp to the finish of the season. After making it through his first two seasons with minimal injury scares, Lawrence was legitimately walking wounded for much of 2023. Lawrence sustained four different injuries this fall that forced him to miss valuable practice time and play in several games with injuries: a knee injury in Week 6, an ankle injury in Week 13, a concussion in Week 15, and then finally a shoulder injury in Week 16 that forced him to miss his first-career start.

The injuries stacked up during the Jaguars’ six-game stretch that saw them go 1-5 and miss the playoffs. The injuries led to Lawrence missing his first career start, which went on to be the Jaguars’ only win of the stretch. And among Lawrence’s 16 starts, his four starts after each injury saw Lawrence have his 2nd, 5th, 7th, and 8th worst games of the season by total EPA. “We do have the right quarterback. I’m excited for the future with Trevor, he’s excited based on the conversations we’ve had since the season. I don’t get into the contract stuff, I leave that for Trent [Baalke] and the agents and stuff,” Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said on Tuesday. “I just know that our guy is the right guy, he’s got the right demeanor, he’s got the right leadership. It’s our job as coaches now to make sure he takes that next step. This will be another big offseason for him and his development and growth. By no means is he where he wants to be or where we want him to be, but really looking forward to working another year with Trevor.”