Of the five quarterbacks taken in the top 15 picks during the 2021 draft, only one of them has not been traded for a third-day pick.
But when will the Jaguars and quarterback Trevor Lawrence strike a deal that keeps him there over the long haul?
Time only makes it cheaper if the quarterback suffers a career-altering injury or otherwise loses his fastball. Typically, waiting makes it more expensive. Primarily because other quarterback deals keep driving the price higher and higher. Not to mention an ever-growing salary cap.
Over the weekend, ESPN pegged the eventual number for a Lawrence extension at more than $50 million per year. Which is sort of obvious, given the market. The real question is whether Lawrence, by waiting a year, could get the number to $60 million.
That’s the other side of this. For the team, it never gets cheaper by waiting. For the player, time is on his side — if he’s willing to not take the bird in the hand.
For that reason, the team should put the biggest possible bird in the player’s hand. Make him an offer he can’t refuse. If, after a couple of years, his performance and the ongoing growth of the market knocks everything out of whack, it can be addressed. But at least he will have been locked in at a favorable rate until that time comes.
Lawrence makes $5.6 million this year. His fifth-year option is a mere $25.6 million — nearly $30 million below top-of-market value. If the Jaguars would offer the Jared Goff package right now, how could Lawrence say no?
The clock is ticking. The price is rising. It won’t get cheaper.
And, yes, Lawrence knows this. But it’s one thing to say “I’ll wait” in a vacuum. It’s quite another to say “no thanks” to a massive pile of money that is on the table, smiling at you.
