“I’ve learned that the NFL is just more drama in general than college.”
Things can only go up from here
Trevor Lawrence’s rookie year couldn’t have gone much worse. After entering the league as the most-hyped quarterback prospect since Peyton Manning, he’s thrown a league-high 14 interceptions for the 2–11 Jaguars. He probably expected to have some struggles in his first year, but there’s no way he could have foreseen all the crap he’s had to deal with off the field.
When Lawrence spoke with the media Wednesday afternoon, plenty of news had recently broken about embattled coach Urban Meyer. Lawrence was asked about his relationship with the media and whether, as with his decision to publicly question Meyer’s decision to bench star running back James Robinson, he’s getting more comfortable speaking his mind. Lawrence used the opportunity to speak his mind about the “drama” surrounding the team.
“Obviously there’s been a lot of drama,” Lawrence said. “Whatever has caused everything, who even knows at this point. But there’s been a lot of drama and, for me, I think it’s important to be truthful. But with that, you can’t say everything that’s on your mind. You have to have a filter and you gotta be careful. I have a lot of appreciation for all those guys in there that’s been working to get this thing right. It hasn’t been easy. I have a lot of appreciation for the players, for the coaches, everybody.
“To just be honest, I think, is important. Obviously you can’t, like I said, always say exactly what’s on your mind, but the truth is in there somewhere always with me.”
“Is this more drama than you’ve ever experienced in a football season?” a reporter followed up.
“Obviously things went pretty smooth for me at Clemson, so obviously the most drama,” Lawrence replied. “But hey, I’ve gotten better in a lot of ways from this—as a leader, as a person. I’ve grown a lot.”
The circus environment may have helped Lawrence grow, but he still wishes things went smoother for the Jags.
“You’re always gonna have some form of drama,” he said. “I’ve learned that the NFL is just more drama in general than college, no matter where you're at. But you're right. There's been a lot. To your point, I do think that has to change and that's something that we need to work on, for sure.
“So you can’t always be in the headlines. You just got to go play football and that’s where we’re trying to get and I have no doubt we’ll get there, but for sure [it has to change].”
Lawrence couldn’t have known then just how much worse things were about to get. Hours later, former Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo accused Meyer of kicking him during practice. Shortly after that, Meyer was fired.
So much for fixing the drama.
The next few days are going to be a firestorm for the Jags, but ending Meyer’s toxic tenure should be just what the team needs to go back to its former drama-free ways. They just needed to hit rock-bottom first.
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