The Inevitable Sets In: 3 Thoughts on the Jaguars Naming Lawrence the Week 1 Starter
The Jacksonville Jaguars, at last, have their starting quarterback. There was never any true doubt, but now the tip-toeing around the inevitable decision has ended, with Urban Meyer officially naming Trevor Lawrence the team's starter on Wednesday.
Lawrence will start against the Houston Texans in Week 1 on Sept. 12, while also getting the nod against the Dallas Cowboys in Sunday's preseason game. For the first time since he was drafted, he is the entrenched starter by title and by the Jaguars' official actions.
What does the move to Lawrence at quarterback mean moving forward? We offer a few thoughts below.
Meyer says this is Lawrence's final competition, but it still isn't clear why it was his first
Meyer smiled and laughed when asked if this was the last quarterback competition Lawrence is going to have to face. And for good reason; It isn't some secret that Meyer took the Jaguars' job in large part because of Lawrence. But that doesn't help make it any clearer why the Jaguars will begin the process of treating Lawrence as the starter 18 days before Week 1, when they could have done so at a much earlier date.
There is merit to forcing a rookie quarterback to earn a job, especially under a first-year head coach. Meyer has preached competition and accountability at every stop of the way since he took the job, but it was always assumed the Jaguars would give Lawrence an easy path to the job since he is the team's presumed franchise quarterback.
But why did the competition drag past the second preseason game? Even if Meyer had a specific timetable in his head of naming a starter after two preseason games, there was never much confidence in the idea that Minshew was actually pushing for a chance to start in Week 1. Lawrence was always going to be the choice and by all accounts, this is a job he could have, and perhaps should have, "won" much sooner. Only the future will tell if the competition will prove to be a smart move or simply a waste of everyone's time.
Meyer made the obvious decision at a much-needed time
In short, Meyer had to announce this move on Tuesday. The Jaguars are kicking off against the Houston Texans on the road in fewer than three weeks and the offense has been a disjointed mess through two preseason games. The unit has failed to consistently do one thing well, while Lawrence has led the Jaguars to just three points in eight drives. It would have been six points if Josh Lambo made a field goal against the Saints, but that would have been a minor difference and wouldn't have changed the fact that Meyer, Lawrence and Darrell Bevell have yet to come together to put forth a cohesive offensive performance.
Why that is the case can be pointed to several things, such as the simple nature of the preseason and a limited playbook, and injured offensive line and more. But the one thing the Jaguars can no longer point the finger at is the own self-inflicted issue of Lawrence not getting enough reps with the starters. That had to end after another sluggish game from the offense on Monday night.
Starting Lawrence seems like a "duh" move because, well, it is. It was the inevitable decision. Despite the Jaguars legitimately rotating Minshew and Lawrence as the starting quarterback in every other practice, there was never much chance of anyone but Lawrence being named the starter. This move was always going to be made, but two weeks of bad offensive play meant it had to be made now and not any later.
Jaguars still have work to do to determine Lawrence's immediate backup
There were never any questions about whether Lawrence would start in Week 1, even if the Jaguars and Meyer forced him to alternate days with Minshew as the No. 1 quarterback. But as a result of Minshew being directly placed into a battle with the No. 1 overall pick, it had also become a foregone conclusion that Minshew would be entrenched as Lawrence's immediate backup on the depth chart.
But on Wednesday, Meyer noted the No. 2 quarterback job is still open behind Lawrence. Minshew and the second-team offense has struggled in the preseason (though Meyer stated today that Minshew was forced to "run for his life" against the Saints on Monday). On the flipside, C.J. Beathard has thrown three touchdowns in two games, accounting for 75% of the Jaguars' preseason touchdowns.
Beathard has been outperformed by Minshew in practice consistently since dating back to even the offseason, but he has played better in the preseason. He has done this against each team's deep reserve defense, of course, but Beathard deserves a genuine look as the team's backup if the Jaguars are truly putting stock into the preseason.
