Will Trevor Lawrence Start Against the Browns?
All indications from the last several days of training camp practices in Jacksonville suggest sooner than later, Urban Meyer will anoint Trevor Lawrence publicly as the team's starting quarterback.
It hasn't happened yet, though, with nine days to go before the Jaguars host the Cleveland Browns for the first week of the preseason. Instead, Urban Meyer is continuing to examine what the Jaguars see from Lawrence as he gets the reps with the No. 1 offense under Meyer, offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and passing game coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.
“There is a reason why I hired Bevell and Schottenheimer," Meyer said after practice Wednesday. "Veteran quarterback coaches at this level, also veteran quarterback coaches with young players so we have not had that dialogue yet."
The decision will come sooner than later, but it is clear Lawrence has to do more than impress Meyer during the training camp practices leading up to August 14.
Jacksonville has so far practiced seven times in training camp, including two practices in pads. Gardner Minshew got the No. 1 reps on the first day of camp before him and Lawrence began to rate days as the starter, but Lawrence has dominated the starting reps in practice since the start of this week.
But still, the decision on whether Lawrence, the No. 1 overall pick in April's NFL Draft, will come closer to next Saturday than right now.
"That will come at the appropriate time, but I am really going to lean heavily on those guys," Meyer said.
Lawrence has had his down days in camp, but he has still overall continued to impress thanks to his big arm and his athleticism. He tests the defense downfield much more frequently and efficiently than any of the other quarterbacks on the Jaguars' roster, completing several highlight-worthy deep throws over the course of camp.
“There are throws, you know on some of things you can see on some of those down field throws are really testing those guys. Those are some yokes there — you have really got to put it into it," Bevell said about Lawrence's deep passing on Tuesday.
"I have been fortunate like you said, [Matthew] Stafford, [Brett] Favre, even Russell [Wilson] I mean those guys can throw it a long way and Trevor has done a good job. There really hasn’t been a throw that I’ve seen that he can’t make.”
Lawrence has had his rookie moments, too, but so far the Jaguars' staff and locker room seem beyond pleased with the hope of the franchise. Lawrence is set to be the most important piece to the Jaguars' future moving forward both in 2021 and in each year beyond, making the dog days of summer training camps all the more important.
There will be days when Lawrence throws interceptions in camp, but those are the throws the Jaguars want to see him at least attempt. And for now, those are the throws they will monitor as the staff sorts out who will start vs. Cleveland as the Jaguars kick off the preseason.
“Yep, I mean I think that’s something that’s understandable — something that this is where we want him to make those mistakes," Bevell said Tuesday. "We want him to learn, we want him to grow and try to put him in the toughest situations possible and then be able to see how he reacts right there in the moment and then see how he is able to bounce back the next day as well. I like what he did. We still had another turnover today but we will continue to work on that.”
