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Trevor Lawrence Rumors: Latest on Jaguars QB's Injury Recovery and Contract Status
May 16, 2021
The Jacksonville Jaguars are being extra careful with franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
On Sunday, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler provided the latest on the 2021 No. 1 overall pick on SportsCenter:
"They've put him on a pitch count; they're not giving him any handoffs. The key is just for him to not be in any sort of traffic with defensive players flying around him. They cannot afford for him to get hurt, and their goal is to have him ready for training camp. That's the big-picture goal. Now, Lawrence can be ready for minicamp. He's feeling good—that's ahead of schedule. They were thinking it'd be later on in the summer, but he's been throwing for the better part of the last six weeks now.
"He's feeling good, so they had him do some dropbacks, a little light 11-man work, but nothing with any sort of traffic or congestion. I mean, this is a guy who hasn't even signed his contract yet. He's the future of this franchise, and so he's basically working under an injury protection letter that says both sides are good if he were to get hurt, they would still negotiate in good faith. Nobody wants that, though, because this is the guy. So they'll basically put him in a bubble but just let him throw the ball a few times."
Lawrence underwent labrum surgery on his non-throwing shoulder in February, but he was at least able to take part in some activities at Jaguars rookie minicamp.
Head coach Urban Meyer confirmed Lawrence was on a pitch count to limit his number of throws but noted the more important factor was to avoid any contact.
"They've told me the labrum is healed after three months, which it's been three months, but we can't have a guy on the ground," Meyer said, per Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports. "That's the biggest thing is we've got to keep people away from him. The pitch count is not as big as the fact as keeping him upright."
Lawrence is avoiding handoffs or even taking snaps under center.
Even with these limitations, he can still get an early look at the playbook while getting ready to take over the starting job from Week 1.
There are high expectations for the Clemson product, who was long considered the best player in the class after a brilliant collegiate career. Bleacher Report's Scouting Department graded him as a possible Hall of Fame talent entering the draft.
With that type of potential, Jacksonville can remain patient as he recovers from his injury.