JAGUARS QUARTERBACK TREVOR LAWRENCE
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2022
(On the leadership of WR Marvin Jones Jr.) “I mean, he was a big leader for us last year, and the same
this year. Obviously, different room, but I think the connection that me and him have just playing
together for a year now and how we communicate, I think that shows a lot, too, especially for the
younger guys, the guys that just came in. So, I think that’s huge and just his voice in the room, the
offensive meetings, all that and his experience, I think he’s got a good head on his shoulders and has a
lot of experience to draw from, and I think guys really listen when he talks.”
(On Head Coach Doug Pederson, comparing QB Trevor Lawrence’s leadership style to Brett Favre, what
it means for that comparison) “Obviously, that’s definitely a compliment, and I’m appreciative. I try not
to pay too much attention to any of that, but that’s cool; to be used in the same sentence as Brett and
seeing how his career was, how great of a player he was. So, it’s obviously a cool thing for me, but at the
end of the day, I got to go prove it on the field and perform, so it doesn’t really change anything. But, it’s
definitely cool.”
(On thoughts of the offensive line) “Man, I think they just got the right mindset. I think Scherff (OL
Brandon Scherff) coming in has really elevated the whole group. You know, it’s a lot of the same guys
that have been here, but bringing in him and his veteran presence, but also just his work ethic and the
way he attacks every day. Always ready to go, never complains, just has that grit, is a little bit nasty,
that’s something that those guys see and have seen it all OTAs and camp. To see a guy to have as much
success as he has had, on his eighth season I believe, and still brings that intensity everyday, I think it’s
elevated the whole group.”
(On the great quarterbacks in the league having relationships with their centers; what is liked about C
Luke Fortner) “He’s done a great job, and we’ve talked about him a lot. Just how smart he is, for one,
and I think he’s been playing really well. Playing at a high level, you can’t tell he’s a rookie at all. Just
starting to build that relationship now, obviously, he just came in, and I’m only on my second year.
Hopefully, this is something we can grow and build and be together for a long time. So, that’s the goal, I
think for myself, for him, for this organization, obviously, when you get someone that’s the plan. So, I
think it’s going great and just the same thing with Scherff (G Brandon Scherff) although he’s (C Luke
Fortner) a younger guy, but just the intensity that he brings, really serious about his business, especially
being a rookie thrown into that role early, and he’s handled it well so it’s been impressive.”
(On where he was a year ago versus now, what being on Year 2 has done for his confidence) “It’s
exciting, you know, it’s exciting because just to see how far we’ve come within a year, through my lens,
obviously it’s different for everyone. They haven’t seen as I’ve seen just because we’ve only had a
couple preseason games and now we’re about to start the season, but, to see the improvement of guys
that were here, to see how much better we’ve gotten, and obviously the new additions have helped a
ton, and just the whole mindset. I think the culture has really flipped, and that’s something that doesn’t
happen overnight. So, it’s taken a lot of work by a lot of people, and I think we’re at a great spot right now. We just got to keep building on that. Obviously, you got to sustain it, and I’m just really excited to
now have an opportunity to prove it. This one counts. And we’re going to have seventeen games at least
to prove who we are.”
(On the effects on his personal confidence level) “I think it’s done a lot for me. I think the trust I have in
all the guys around me is really high right now. Like you said, I’ve learned a lot the past year, a lot of bad,
some good too, and just things that I’ve learned from it. I think having that confidence of experience is a
thing too. And, obviously, having really good players around you helps anyone’s confidence. So, just
trusting those guys, the guys up front, the guys in the perimeter, the running backs we’ve got, just really
exciting.”
(On rookie OLB Travon Walker, if there’s relation in experiences as number one picks) “We’ve had some
conversations, not necessarily about that, I think there’s just in general, life stuff. We’ll talk every once
in a while, and I think the way he carries himself is going to serve him well. Just not a guy that has a big
spotlight on him, because he doesn’t attract any attention, and I think that’s something that I respect a
lot about him. I think he’s going to be just fine. We got a bunch of people around him to help him, if I did
talk to him it would be, ‘You’re not doing it on your own; we’re all in this with you,’ and I think that’s the
message for the whole team anyways. So, I don’t think he feels too much pressure right now. Obviously,
as the year goes on, there’s going to be ups and downs, and that’s just the way the NFL is. It’s the same
way during games, the ebbs and flows, you just got to stick to it, and that’s a big thing. Our message to
the team is just that games aren’t always going to go your way, but you just got to find a way to finish
and good teams do that. So, the same thing in a season. I think Travon is going to learn that as it goes,
but the way he carries himself, he’s going to be fine. I don’t worry about him at all.”
(On craziness of LB Travon Walker and QB Trevor Lawrence both going number one overall, from two
hours within each other) “It’s pretty crazy, that’s a guy I’ve seen the last couple years and kind of had my
eye on. Never would’ve really thought we’d end up playing together and to now be on the same team,
to see the way the whole team has come together is really cool.”
(On Washington Commanders defense, preparation on offensive to go against them) “Yes and no, yes
because I’m confident in what we’re doing and the plan we’ve put together so far, and I feel great about
it. I think the guys love it. I know we’re really excited. But in the same way, we don’t know exactly what
they’re going to do because the first couple games of the season are always like that. You’re going off
last year’s film and the past, and obviously the same defensive coordinator but you never know what
kind of new wrinkles they’re going to have. Obviously, this is a team where Coach Pederson and Press
(Offensive Coordinator Press Taylor), a lot of our coaches played against some of those teams in the
same division for a while. They have a history so I’m sure they’ll have a plan for us, just like we have a
plan for them. It’s really about executing that and adjusting as you go on, okay, what are they actually
doing, and making those in-game adjustments. But, yes, I’m really excited and I think we’ve got a great
plan.”
(On how the culture of the organization has changed) “Yeah, I mean, I think you can just feel it; in the
building, in the locker room, with the coaches, everything. The positivity, the confidence that people are
walking around with. I think that’s the main thing. Then, like I was kind of hinting at, yes it’s changed,
and I think it’s in a great spot. But it’s also about maintaining that. That’s something you can lose,
obviously. Here and other places that’s happened before, so, it’s about really everyday putting your best
foot forward.”
(On if a win is needed to validate everything) “I wouldn’t phrase it that way, that’s a tricky one there, but
a win, obviously, that’s the plan, that’s the goal. We feel great about our game plan and how we’ve
prepared ourselves. But, at the same time, if you lose the first game, you’ve got sixteen more. You can
still make the playoffs, you still got everything ahead of you. So, we’re going to take it as we go, and
honestly, I feel really confident, so there’s no thought of losing, but there’s no thought of ‘if we lose this
game, all the work we’ve done is gone’ that’s not how it works either. So, it’s just about having that
mindset.”
(On if a fast start would help the confidence in the locker room moving forward) “Definitely. I think, to
your point though, the confidence that would bring, to be able to show the work we’ve put in and where
I feel like we are as a team, how much we’ve improved, and how prepared we are. To be able to get a
win, to start the season 1-0, I think it would be huge for our team, this city, the fan base, all the way
around. So, that’s the plan.”
(On if he knows how many losses the Jacksonville Jaguars has to NFC teams) “I have no idea.” (On the
answer being 16 straight) “I don’t really care too much.”
(On the excitement of the game plan and how much the game plan can change throughout the season)
“It varies week-to-week. You face some teams where the coaches have a similar tree, so you see a lot of
the same things, but you have your offense in and that’s what you always go back to when you make a
game plan. Everyone is typically familiar with what we’re putting in, we just make it look different or
maybe we didn’t carry it the week before, but it’s still part of our offense. So, that is constantly
changing, everything we did in camp, all the installs, however many of them there were, we don’t carry
all of that into a game plan. We pick and choose what fits the team that we’re playing best and go from
there. So, that changes a lot.”
(On the identity of the team is known) “Offensively, I think we’re a really hardnose team up front. I think
we can run the ball. I think we’re going to create a lot of explosives down the field. That’s something
that we’re really confident in with the guys we have. We have some great backs, and that goes with our
offensive commandments: protect the football, create explosives, ball security, all those things. There’s
more of them, too, that we could talk about. But that’s what we live by and that’s who we try to be.”
(On being named a captain and what it means in the locker room) “It’s huge, obviously, I was named a
captain last year which was a big honor as a rookie. You know, that’s something I don’t take lightly and
the same thing this year with a lot of new faces. There’s five of us that are captains, and I really think
that’s a great group to represent this team. But, there’s plenty of other leaders, I’ve said it before.
There’s a lot of other guys that represent the team, all the guys do. I’m really confident in how everyone
will carry themselves. It’s just a great group to be with, and I’m excited.”
(On feelings of RB James Robinson returning healthy) “I’m excited. I know he’s super excited to be. We
had a front row seat to see his recovery and the challenges with that and just how hard he’s worked to
get back. I’m really proud of him but excited to have him there, too.”
JAGUARS HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 7, 2022
(On if the recently released depth chart is official) “It is official. I’m so glad that’s such a big topic
(laughing).”
(On what what OL Jawaan Taylor showed him to be named starting right tackle) “It was a great battle,
competition, throughout camp, really, and I thought both guys did an outstanding job. Walker (Little)
did a nice job when he was in there, and of course, Jawaan had been in there before, and it was really
his job to lose, so to speak, but he came back and showed us some great things and is deserving of the
spot.”
(On what he likes about WR Marvin Jones Jr.’s leadership) “Marvin is just a class act, a great vet in the
room. There’s a lot of young guys in that room when you’re thinking about the Tim Jones’ in there and
now some of the young practice squad players, he can be such an impact on those players in how he
handles his business. He’s a great leader with the entire team. The players respect him and look up to
him because of what he’s done in this league.”
(On if there are any injuries still being monitored) “Foley (DL Folorunso Fatukasi) is the only one we’re
working back into the mix. We should see him out at practice today.”
(On if there are any depth concerns only having a couple players behind DL Folorunso Fatukasi) “No.
We’re comfortable with the guys we have in the different rotations that Mike (Defensive Coordinator
Mike Caldwell) and Buck (Defensive Line Coach Brentson Buckner) can present, so we’re comfortable
there.”
(On if opening day feels different as a coach vs. a player) “Opening day is opening day. It’s a lot of fun.
You’re playing a 1 p.m. game. It’s sunny out, as opposed to a preseason night game, but the emotions
are going to run high, obviously, there are going to be butterflies and jitters to start the game, that’s
natural. It just shows you that football’s here and football’s back and we’re ready for another season.”
(On anything he can tell the rookies to prepare for opening day) “It’s hard. You can talk to them and kind
of express your experiences there. Of course, these guys have been through their own opening days, but
these are a little bit different at this level. They will handle it. The vets on the team can also sort of share
their experiences, cast a light, but it’s how we handle our emotions, too, early in the football game. You
don’t want to expend a lot of energy early, make sure you can control that and can play for 60 minutes.”
(On if the team needs a win early to validate everything they’ve been doing) “Listen, you want to win
every football game, there’s no question about that, and you want to do the things we’ve talked about.
You want to take care of the football. You want to create turnovers. You want to be able to run the ball,
stop the run. Those things we’ve talked about from day one. I think if you do enough of that in any game, your chances of winning are increased, but we just have to focus on us and make sure we’re
doing everything we can to give our players everything they need to be successful on game day.”
(On the starters behind DE Chase Young who is out with an ACL tear) “First of all, Chase is a great player.
I’ve seen him in my former life, played against him—not me personally playing, but I’ve coached against
him—great player. He’s going to be missed by that team and that front. He’s a leader there, but the
other guys are just as good. Washington has spent a lot of resources on that defensive line over the
years, and these are really good players. It really doesn’t matter who they plug in. There are some game
wreckers there. A guy like Luke Fortner (OL), first time in there with these two big guys, physical guys.
It’ll be fun to watch these two the whole game. They give you a bunch of different looks, multiple looks,
and things we have to be prepared for.”
(On if that is a big factor in their preparation for this game) “Yeah, I think it’s one of them, and you go
into games trying to control the line of scrimmage. I think every coach in the league is saying, ‘Let’s
control the line of scrimmage.’ Easier said than done, especially when you go against a front like this.”
(On comparing QB Trevor Lawrence and QB Carson Wentz at this same time, year two, in their careers)
“It’s similar, but in our case, it’s different because year two for Trevor is a different staff—a different
head coach, different coordinator, different position coach, where Carson year two, it was the same
guys, and there was consistency there. Although we’ve seen tremendous growth in Trevor, year two for
Carson with us, there was another step, another leap there. Those are things we’re trying to get Trevor
to, that level with Trevor in our system, and you’re going to see it probably throughout the course of the
season, but I think time will tell with him.”
(On what makes him think that Trevor is going to take that leap in year two) “I think it’s just down to the
player, who the player is and how willing he is to take the coaching and take the criticism, take the good,
the bad, and work on his craft. That’s with any player, but in this case with Trevor, that’s what we’ve
seen from all the way back in the spring, just the improvements he’s made from OTAs in May and June
to now are tremendous. Sometimes they’re even just subtle changes, but they’re changes to us, and
those are the things you build on. Just keep him headed in the right direction, obviously no setbacks,
and just keep plugging away and working hard.”
(On Sunday being Defensive Coordinator Mike Caldwell’s first game calling plays and if he has any
advice) “Talk about opening day jitters for a play-caller. I remember my first opening day in ’16 against
the Browns. You think you’ve got to call the perfect play. In your mind, you think you’re trying to
scheme the defense and trying to call the perfect play offensively and probably the same way on
defense, but my advice to him will just be relax, have fun with it, use his eyes, believe in what he’s been
talking about all week in the plan, and ultimately, you’ve got to just trust your players. You put them in
situations, that’s what you go out and practice all week for, and just trust those guys to make the plays
for you.”
(On anything that stands out to him about the team’s dedication leading up to this point) “I look at this
team and how well they’ve come together as a group over the course of the summer and training camp
now. It’s a close group, and that’s rare, especially with a new staff and coach, and sometimes it takes a
little more time than expected, but this group came together rather quickly. There’s great leadership on
this team within the locker room, and that’s what the players lean on. That’s what I lean on during these
times, and that, to me, has brought this team through training camp, and here we are in the regular
season. They’re healthy, they’re excited, and just looking forward to the opportunity.”
(On how difficult it is to prepare, knowing that teams don’t show most of what they’ve got during
preseason) “It’s the hardest thing because you don’t know what they’ve been working on during the
offseason, during training camp, and those are things you don’t show during the preseason games, but
there’s obviously history knowing Coach Del Rio and studying his past and having coached against him in
the past, and Coach Rivera, and they’ve got a great staff over there, but at the same time, there’s always
the unknown, unscouted looks, as we call them, that we don’t see on tape. If it happens, it happens. We
just make the corrections on the sideline and move on. This first game or two, something is going to
surprise you a little bit.”
(On comparing QB Trevor Lawrence to QB Brett Farve) “What I meant by that, too, is just how he leads
the team. Trevor’s not a cheerleader, the rah-rah guy, stand on the table. Brett was never that way. He
always led by example. He was a hard worker. He was dedicated to his craft. He wanted to learn and get
better. That’s what I saw in Brett, and that’s what I see in Trevor, similarities that way. Two different
types of quarterbacks, obviously, but that leadership style is very similar.”
(On if there are unique challenges of non-conference games) “Yeah, it’s kind of crazy because a few of
us know this team, and they kind of know some of us. It’s a little different that way, having spent five
years in that division. This is always going to be one of those tough, physical games anytime you play
Washington. Both teams are going to prepare this week, and both staffs are going to prepare their
players for a great football game on Sunday.”
(On the expected workload for RB James Robinson) “I think we’ve got to get into the football game. I’ve
been in situations like this, too, where you want to go in, and you want to control the pace of game for a
guy like James, but at the same time, if he’s feeling good, and there haven’t been any setbacks, then you
just go. You roll with it. You’ve got 48 guys on game day, and you’ve got to use them all.”
(On where he feels RB James Robinson is at in his return) “I think he’s there, I think he’s back. He’s
practiced these past few weeks, and he’s looked really good. I’m excited to watch him play.”
(On Achilles tendon injuries often historically being career-ending) “Usually, but modern medicine,
technology, rehab, there’s a lot of things now at these players’ disposal that get them back on the field a
lot sooner than before. I’ve been around players, even offensive and defensive line, same injury, and
they came back right away and play, so it’s not out of the question. And it’s credit to the player, too, for
his dedication to getting back out on the field.”
(On what about RB James Robinson can give the team a big boost on Sunday) “He’s a little different
runner than TJ (RB Travis Etienne Jr.), and he fits a certain style of run game that we like, and TJ fits
another style that we like, and you try to use both of them together. Be smart, and put them in
situations where they can be successful, and that’s on us as coaches to do that, but he brings a little
different style. He runs a little lower behind his pads a little bit, more of a downhill, one-cut guy. That’s
what he’s done in the past, and we’re going to keep that going.”
(On how much flexibility that gives him as a play caller) “It opens things up if you’re running the ball
successfully, and it starts there. It’s nice to have two different type of runners because you can do
different things in the game. Again, it’s more, too, about what works when you get into the game as you
make adjustments.”
(On if any of the other players claimed off waivers will be available for the game such as JaMycal Hasty)
“Yeah, JaMycal (RB JaMycal Hasty) is doing well. We’ll see where he’s at at the end of the week as we
work toward the 48. Snoop (RB Snoop Conner) is in the same boat right there, kind of competing
together, and we’ll make those decisions later in the week.”
(On if he knows what he is expecting to see from his team on Sunday) “Yeah, I think in your mind, yeah,
that’s why you practice and you put in the game plan this week and you go out and execute it, and you
have a vision of what you hope it is, on what you think you can be, and my job as the head coach is to
keep the team focused on that. We’ve got to have an identity. We’ve got to do the things that we’ve
talked about all offseason and training camp. I have a vision in my head, and I try to relate that and
communicate that to the team, and now they have to try to go out and be that. It’s the fun part of it.”
(On TJ being a nickname for RB Travis Etienne Jr.) “Yeah, I kept hearing ‘TJ.’ Bernie Parmalee (Running
Backs Coach) kept calling him TJ, and I’m like, ‘Who’s TJ? Who is this guy? Do we have a TJ on the
roster?’ He said, ‘No, that’s just what we call him.’”
(On fun for the team and staff as a common theme) “This (press conferences) is no fun … (laughter) I
think that goes back to the offseason. I think it goes back to me having a year off and thinking about my
next opportunity and where that might be then when given that opportunity, how that’s going to look.
Ultimately, I get to set the tone for the day, for the week, for the month, for the year, and I want these
guys to have fun. This is a short-lived business for players and coaches, and if we don’t enjoy coming to
work every day, having fun doing what we’re doing, then we need to honestly go do something else. I
want to create that environment for these guys. Still hold them accountable and make sure they’re still
doing their job and all that, but at the same time, let’s have fun doing it.”
