Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence has ‘greater appreciation for winning’ after rookie season

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence has spoken openly and honestly about the struggles and drama that hovered over him and his teammates throughout his rookie season. Lawrence’s first season included head coach Urban Meyer losing his job in under a full year and the Jaguars finishing with an overall record of 3-14. 

Lawrence remarked last month that “everybody is on the same page” with new head coach Doug Pederson. Per Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk, the 22-year-old admitted that his debut campaign taught some difficult lessons while speaking with Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd on Monday.

“Yeah, I mean, it was a long year for sure,” Lawrence explained. “I’d say I think I stayed pretty positive the whole year. There were definitely some times where — especially after games where you’re going home and you’re just like, man, we’re on a losing streak of five or six games in a row — it gets a little rough. I hadn’t lost more than five or six games probably my whole career up until that point. So that was definitely a reality check for sure. But just trying to stay positive, try to keep the team together, I think that’s something I did the whole season. And, yeah, it was challenging.

“I think I learned a lot from last year. Obviously, you get a different perspective than when you’re just winning like I had in the past. So I have a lot greater appreciation for winning, for one. And then just being able to overcome some of those challenges, face all of them, and then now going to a new year with a lot of confidence, good team around us, great staff — I’m really excited.” 

Lawrence started every game of his rookie year and completed 59.6 percent of his passes for 3,641 yards with just 12 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams also tossed 17 picks, and ESPN stats note that no quarterback threw more interceptions than Stafford and Lawrence last season.