After reports surfaced in the last week alleging that the Pittsburgh Steelers had inquired about the trade availability of Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, he was forced to address the rumors that Jacksonville was looking to make a move this week.
Speaking on the Up and Adams Show on Monday, Lawrence emphatically refuted any possibility of a trade becoming reality, saying that he's been assured that he remains in the Jaguars' plans for the foreseeable future, and that on his end he's still focused on bringing postseason success to Jacksonville.
"That's funny. You know, I didn't really see anything. My agent texted me and … said, 'Hey, this is a report that is out there. I don't think there's anything to it, but I'll check into it,'" Lawrence recounted. "So I saw it, and it's funny though. Like, when he sent it to me, I was like, I wouldn't say your heart drops, but you're kind of like, what? And then I'm thinking about how I can't even get -- I have a no-trade clause in my contract, so I would know about it if I was getting traded, or if that was something that was gonna happen, you know, I'd have to be on board with it. Which I'm not.
"I'm happy here in Jacksonville. I plan on, you know, we want to win a Super Bowl here, and I think we can do that. And I don't want to leave Jacksonville. So I'm happy here, obviously not going to Pittsburgh."
This is not necessarily a surprising reveal, as both new head coach Liam Coen and recently-hired offensive coordinator Grant Udinski have gone on record saying they're looking forward to the opportunity to work with Lawrence, making a parting of ways at this stage an unlikely decision.
In fact, Lawrence said Coen went as far as to personally contact him to let him know that there was no substance to the scuttlebutt.
"Liam texted me, actually, I guess the day after it came out, and Liam said, 'Shouldn't even have to say this, but that's not coming from us.'" Lawrence said. "I was like, Yeah, I figured. So we're all good. He didn't even have to send that. There was no doubt on my side."
With both sides on the same page, Lawrence can keep his focus where he wants it, on rebounding from a frustrating and injury-shortened 2024 campaign. Lawrence signed a five-year, $275 million extension last offseason that put him among the highest-paid players in the NFL, but the immediate returns on that investment were middling. The Jaguars struggled out of the gate and couldn't recover, leading to a 4-13 record for a team that expected to make a return to the playoffs. Lawrence himself had his worst season since his rookie year while also dealing with a lingering shoulder injury and later a concussion that caused him to miss significant action for the first time in his four-year career.
Lawrence ended up having surgery to repair the AC joint in his left shoulder, telling Kay Adams that while he's still "on my way" in the recovery, the process is going well and he's been out of a sling for three weeks.
Once he's healed, all indications are that Lawrence is still the man in Jacksonville, with both he and his coaches ready to put in the work to get the Jaguars back in the playoff conversation.
"Like I said, we love Jacksonville," Lawrence said. "This is home for us, and there's a lot more on the football side that, you know, we've yet to accomplish here, and I'm excited about what we're building. The future is very bright, and I want to be the guy here for a long time."
