Trevor Lawrence on Jaguars' Josh Allen: 'We Need Him'
There are plenty of Josh Allen supporters in the Jacksonville Jaguars' locker room, but maybe none more important than franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Lawrence's voice carries weight in the Jaguars' organization for obvious reasons. And this week, Lawrence used that voice to support Allen as he seeks a new deal with the franchise after playing on his fifth-year option in 2023.
"He'll be there. I got faith. He's gonna be there," Lawrence said on Up & Adams on Tuesday.
"He's an incredible player. We need him. He's been, he's an anchor for our defense and I'm excited for this next year for him and he's gonna keep getting better. So I'm hoping he's back. I think he will be."
"Of course I want to be in Jacksonville. You know, I have a chance to leave a legacy behind," Allen said this weekend in Orlando at the Pro Bowl, via Jamal St. Cyr of WJXT4 in Jacksonville.
"And you know, that's something I wanted to do. I wanted to be with the best defensive player to come out of Jacksonville. And that's everywhere that I go so I got a great opportunity to finish what I started. You know, but at the end of the day I know what comes with the business side of it. So, you know, whatever play out, play out. But, you know, I'd love to be back."
In 17 games this year, Allen recorded 17.5 sacks, a career-high 33 quarterback hits, a career-high 17 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and an interception. Allen also finished No. 5 among all EDGE players in pressures and No. 7 in win-rate.
"Haven’t started. Those negotiations will start," Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke said last week.
"I know Josh wants to be here, I know we want him here. Can we come to a number that works for everybody? That’s the key. I respect that. Like I said last year with Evan’s (Engram) situation, you got to respect these guys that put themselves in this position. They work hard, they deserve to make good money. What that good means to them could be different than what it means to us. We just got to come together, sit down at the table and work things out.”
The last two years, the Jaguars have used the franchise tag as a mechanism to continue negotiations. It happened with Evan Engram last year before he signed a new deal ahead of training camp, and it happened with Cam Robinson in 2022 before he signed a new deal around the draft.
“I’m not going to commit to anything right now relative to the franchise tag. But at the same token, Josh Allen is going to be a Jaguar next year," Baalke said.
