The Jaguars and Trevor Lawrence have made his new deal official, as the quarterback put pen to paper on Thursday to finalize his five-year extension.
In his press conference, Lawrence said he knew throughout last week that the two sides were close to striking an agreement. And now that it’s finished, Lawrence said he’s glad to have the stability that comes with a long-term contract.
“I think, obviously, financially it’s amazing and really sets us up for the future and the rest of our lives. So, that’s a huge blessing — obviously, that’s a big deal. But I think even more than that is the stability of being here for the long-term,” Lawrence said. “To be able to say that we’re going to be here and have confidence and know that, that means a lot to us. And we love it here. It’s become home. Our families love it, our families love visiting here. And we’ve really settled in — this is home for us. So, we wanted to be here long-term.
“Obviously, it’s a place we love to live in and we know that because we’ve had some good and some bad times as far as football goes. So, we’ve kind of experienced both and we love being here either way. And, obviously, the way the organization’s going and the direction that we’re heading on the football side, that makes it, obviously, a no-brainer for us. We’re headed in the right direction and I want to be the quarterback here. I want to bring a championship to Jacksonville. That’s my goal. And I really know that we can accomplish that. So, I’m excited for that.”
Lawrence didn’t quite want to characterize his feelings now that the deal is done as relief, but he noted that all parties involved wanted to have the matter settled before training camp.
“To have it done and behind us where we can move forward and just play and get ready for training camp instead of thinking in the back of your mind it didn’t get done … every season’s big but it feels good to know I’m going to be here and have that stability,” Lawrence said. “It doesn’t really change too much, but it does feel good to have it done. That was a goal that the team and myself and my team wanted to get done, is to have it finished by the time training camp came around so we could just put everything toward this year and get ready to go bring a championship here.”
Lawrence added that it feels good to be backed by the organization’s top brass for years to come.
“Just grateful for them that they see that in me and they want me to be the quarterback here,” Lawrence said. “And, obviously, that’s what I want, but it takes two to tango. So I’m grateful that they see the value in me and I really feel confident in what we can accomplish here.”