Quarterback Trevor Lawrence made it official with the Jaguars last week, signing his lucrative five-year contract extension.
Lawrence, 24, told Albert Breer of SI.com in an interview after putting pen to paper that he feels like the ups and downs of his first three seasons have prepared him well for the years ahead.
“I think that experience is probably the best teacher,” Lawrence said. “Everyone says the big thing is the ‘whys’ learned from other people’s mistakes. I do think that’s true. But I also think there are some things you just kind of have to go through. And you learn a lot when you experience them. I’ve been through all the mixes. A terrible season. A season that started really bad and we finished really great, which was 2022. And last year was the opposite, started great and finished really bad.
“So I’ve experienced all those elements of it, and I understand how this game works. The NFL is just different. It’s a long season; it really is about who’s playing best in December, January, February, not September, October, November. You have to be playing your best at the right time, the end of the year. I think I have a better perspective of all of that. I’d say that’s the biggest thing.”
Factoring in the two years left on Lawrence’s rookie deal, the quarterback is now under contract with Jacksonville for seven years at an average annual value of $43.7 million. Though the Jaguars missed the playoffs in 2023 with a disappointing 1-5 finish, Lawrence said it felt good to nevertheless receive the backing of the organization this offseason.
“Obviously, you’d prefer to finish really strong that year and put yourself in a better position, not necessarily leverage-wise, but just feeling good about the future, feeling really sure about it,” Lawrence says. “I think that left a little bit of a sour taste in all our mouths, the way we finished. But I mean, no, because I believe in the player I am. And now it feels good, and I knew they did already, that the organization believed in me.
“To put it out there, put it on paper, that I have the full faith and belief of the organization, for them to pay me like a top quarterback in the league, and to sign a long-term deal here, and put that faith and trust in me, feels really good. And to be backed by Mr. [Shad] Khan, and Trent [Baalke], and Doug and [Pederson] all the people that are involved in making that decision, that feels as good as anything. Obviously, the money is awesome, too, but it’s the respect, and feeling that I’m really backed by the team.”