QUARTERBACK TREVOR LAWRENCE
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2024
(On if he was on vacation when the deal got done) “It wasn’t official I guess, but we agreed on
everything Thursday, and that came out. Then we were trying to push to get it done Friday because we
were leaving to go on vacation with Marissa’s (Marissa Lawrence) family. So, we were going to leave in
the morning, but then we thought it would get done, so we waited and waited. Believe it or not it’s a lot
of pages of contract to read through, I didn’t read through all of it, I’ve got an agent for that. But it’s a lot
of paper work so we didn’t get it done in time. Now here we are. It’s alright, it could wait a few days.”
(On if his new contract upped the ante on Father’s Day gifts) “Well I used the excuse that I haven’t signed
it yet, so I got to wait until it’s done [laughing]. No, that’s a good point, it should’ve, so maybe we need
to reconsider that.”
(On if the receivers’ trip has to grow exponentially now that he has a new contract) “Yeah, that’s a good
question for next year. It’s funny you bring that up. We’re actually going to play in the American Century
Golf Tournament this year and that’s about the time we do our trip. So, I’m going to get a couple guys in
town and hang out here. We’ll work out and golf and maybe take a boat out or something but next year
for sure. We’ll get back on track and get that going. It’s been a crazy offseason, obviously trying to get
that done, and like I said, the golf deal coming up but yeah that’s going to have to get better every year.
It has done that already, so we’ll have to take it another step this year for sure.”
(On if it means more that you are now financially secure and tied to the franchise) “Financially, it’s
amazing and really sets us up for the future and for the rest of our lives so that’s a huge blessing.
Obviously, that’s a big deal. But I think even more than that is the stability of being here for the long-
term. However, many years that ends up being. I guess, could be seven, however many it ends up being,
is still a long time. To be able to say we’re going to be here and have confidence and know that it means
a lot to us. We love it here; it’s become our home. Our families love it, they love visiting here. We’ve
really settled in, this is home for us. So, we wanted to be here long-term, it’s a place we love to live in
and know that because we’ve had some good and some bad times as far as football goes so, we’ve kind
of experienced both and we love being here either way. The way the organization is going and the
direction that we’re heading on the football side, that makes it a no brainer for us. I want to be the
quarterback here, I want to bring a championship to Jacksonville, that’s my goal. I really know that we
can accomplish that. I’m excited for that and it just pairs up that we happen to love living here too.”
(On if there is a weight off of his shoulders now that it’s out of the way) “Yeah, definitely a little bit of
relief. Shouldn’t even say relief, obviously it’s a huge blessing, we’re excited. But to have it done and kind
of behind us to where you can just move forward, go play, and get ready for training camp instead of
thinking in the back of your mind that it didn’t get done. Obviously, every season is big, but it feels good
to know that I am going to be here and have that stability. But yeah, it doesn’t really change too muc, but
it does feel good to have it done. That was a goal that the team, myself, and my team wanted to get
done. To have it finished by the time training camp comes around so we can just put everything towards
this year and get ready to go bring a championship here.”
(On what the moment was like when he got the call from his agent that the deal was done) “I was at my
house, it was a week ago today. It was heading that way all week, I was getting updates from my agent
and we were talking about where it was. I knew we were getting pretty close, so I felt confident that it
would get done, I didn’t know exactly when. It’s kind of like nothing, nothing, nothing and then ramps up
last minute. So, it’s interesting how it works out. I felt good we were going to get it done, not necessarily
last week, but I knew we were headed in the right direction. So, yeah it was really exciting when he told
me, ‘Alright, here’s where we’re at and I think we are about done with it.’ So, I was super pumped and it
feels good to, I say … accomplish, but it feels good to really be backed by the organization and Mr. Kahn
(Shad Kahn) and Trent (General Manager Trent Baalke) and everyone involved in making these decisions
of who you sign long-term, who you keep around. Just grateful for them and that they see that in me,
and they want me to be the quarterback here. Obviously, that’s what I want but it takes two to tango so,
I’m grateful that they see the value in me, and I really feel confident in what we can accomplish here.”
(On if there is added pressure) “I think it is what you make it. Playing quarterback in this league is
pressure anyways. So, I guess on the outside there’s going to be a bigger expectation with the long-term
deal and being the franchise quarterback, having the contract to say that it might change how other
people look at it. For me I think I’ve kind of carried that responsibility anyways, being a starting
quarterback in this league is a big responsibility. The team goes as you go and I know that and that’s a
big responsibility. So, I’m not going to add any pressure to myself, just based on getting this contract. It
doesn’t really change what I expect of myself and what the team expects of me. Whether this got done
or not, Mr. Kahn (Shad Kahn), Trent (General Manager Trent Baalke), Doug, (Head Coach Doug Pederson),
everyone, all the coaches expect me to play well and to bring a championship here eventually. I know
that’s the end goal and that’s what I’m here for. So, now that this is done, it doesn’t really change that,
but like I said, maybe from the outside it does, a little bit, but not for me.”
(On if anyone reached out to him such as former teammates, coaches, etc.) “Yeah, a lot of current
teammates here, had some nice things to say and were just congratulating me. Family, former coaches
like you said, a lot of former coaches reached out. There is so much going on it’s hard to think about
every single person that has helped you along the way, but having people reach out kind of triggers little
memories. Whether it’s quarterback coach in high school, or quarterback coach in college, or Coach
Swinney (Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney) or my head coach in high school. Whatever it is, you kind
of think about all the people that have helped you accomplish everything that you’ve accomplished to
get to this point. It is kind of cool getting those texts and thinking back on some good memories with
them and everything they’ve done for you.”
(On if you think this contract sends the message that when you talk, teammates need to listen) “I think
I’ve earned that respect over time here anyways, but not really. I think I look at myself as that anyways,
as a franchise quarterback and that’s how I’ve tried to carry myself over the last few years. I’m a firm
believer that you have to earn respect and you have to prove it on the field in this sport. At the end of
the day there’s a lot of guys. You can respect people but you’re only going to listen to someone so much
if they’re not holding up their end of the deal on the field. So, I understand that those two things go
hand and hand. It’s earned respect and having the work ethic to back it up, and then producing. So those
are the two things that I want to do more consistently, but I feel like I have proven myself to my
teammates and proven the leader that I am. I have a lot of confidence in that, and I know my teammates
respect me. We have a lot of leaders on the team and being the quarterback is a big one, you are looked
at as the leader, but we have other guys too. Whether it’s on the defensive side of the ball or whatever,
that have to carry their weight and we have a great leadership group actually that’s been talking a lot
this offseason and we know kind of the next step we need to take to get us where we want to go.”
(On what it means hearing that his work ethic inspires his teammates) “It means a lot. Like I was just
saying, it proves that I guess that the way I look at things and the way I try to handle my business works
and that it shows to my teammates and that’s something that’s important to me. More so than the
contract or anything, it’s just earning the respect from the people that you work with. Whether it’s
coaches or players, that’s a huge piece of this, it’s having that respect. It shows that I’m doing something
right. Obviously, I’m not perfect, you’ve got to always get better, and I know I can do things better on the
field and be more consistent. To show that I’m handling myself the right way off the field and that I have
made an impact on some of my teammates does mean a lot to me.”
(On what one of the funniest things was that someone said to him after getting his contract) “I mean we
were just on vacation with Marissa’s (Marissa Lawrence) family and obviously there are a lot of jokes
going around. I think one of my buddies said ‘Congrats on your new two dollars an hour raise’ or
something like that. He texted me right when I was done. So, stuff like that is just funny. My teammates,
ah man, training camp they’re going to kill me the first few days back for it. [laughing]”
(On if he had any involvement on how many years the contract was for) “It started as a 15 year, I’m just
kidding [laughing]. I’d be in a walker going out of here. No, for us it was always the same range. Full
transparency it was four to five years, somewhere in there. There have been some deals that have been
long, look at Patrick’s [QB Patrick Mahomes] or even [QB] Josh Allen’s was, I think, six years or something
like that. I knew we wanted to be here and there’s always a balancing act of however many years you do.
Sometimes that can put the team in a better position, which is great. That was our goal which I feel like
we were able to accomplish, was obviously there was a certain amount as a player you want to make
and you want to be in the market value, all those things, but you also want to keep the team in a good
position to where we can pay other guys and have players around me, do all those things from a salary
cap perspective. I don’t know how all that works but it felt like my agent, Trent [General Manager Trent
Baalke] and the whole front office did a good job of maneuvering all those things where it felt like we all
won in the end. It puts us in a position where we can still have a lot of talent here, we can bring guys in
or we can keep the guys that we have. That was something that was important to me because it wasn’t
worth it to me to sacrifice being able to have a good team just so I can make some money. I felt like we
were able to balance that and I thought we did a good job of getting it to a point to where I felt like in
the future we have some room and we can really still continue to have good players around. Myself, and
then defensively on that side of the ball too. So, I’m excited about that.”
(On what about the organization made him feel comfortable signing for another five years) “I love our
head coach, Coach Pederson’s done a great job. Press [Taylor], our offensive coordinator, the staff that
we have in place, I feel really confident in our system. I feel like every year I’ve gotten better and better
in the system, and I know this year is going to be a big year to keep improving. But I feel really confident
in that. Like I said, just the overall team that we have, the leadership we have on the team as far as
players, we have such a good group. I think a lot of the guys we brought in two years ago; it was their
first year. You talk about like, Evan [TE Evan Engram], Christian [WR Christian Kirk], Scherff [OL Brandon
Scherff], and Foye [LB Foye Oluokun] on the defensive side. All those guys that kind of felt like we started
to build this thing from the ground on in ’22. Then last year it continued to grow and then this year like I
said, the free agents and then the draft class that we got, I’m really excited about it. I think this is
definitely the best team that we’ve had here in my eyes. Just at this point in the year from what I’ve
seen, I feel very confident in that. So, I think all those things and the building blocks that we have and
the players that you build around, the type of leaders and the type of people, that’s what I feel the most
confidence in really. We have good people here and I think that’s important to having success.”
(On if him and OLB Josh Allen both getting contracts in the offseason builds towards the future) “Yeah I
think that’s huge to get those done. I think it’s just big to reward guys for playing really well, especially in
a situation like Josh. He had to have a great year last year and he did it. He had 17.5 sacks and to really
be able to do that and put his best foot forward at this point in his career, I feel like he’s gotten better
every year. It’s exciting and I think you build around that. Like I said, Josh, there’s Foye [LB Foye
Oluokun], Evan [TE Evan Engram], Christian [WR Christian Kirk], Scherff [OL Brandon Scherff], there’s so
many guys that you can point to. Cisco [S Andre Cisco], [CB] Tyson Campbell, all over the field that bring
something unique to the table that we need, but of course Josh is a big one on defense. Having a guy
that for us too we’re going to be here and got the contract, we’re kind of going to align as far as the time
we’re going to be here and we know we can count on that. It’s important for us to be on the same page,
which we have been, of just leading and what the message is for the team. How we want to carry
ourselves because we’re going to be here for a while.”
(On if there will be a side bet between him and Head Coach Doug Pederson during the American Century
tournament) “We need to, that’s a great idea actually. Before I do that, I’ve got to make sure I’m playing
well because he’s pretty good.”
(On Head Coach Doug Pederson finishing ahead of QB Patrick Mahomes and QB Josh Allen in the
American Century Tournament) “Oh did he. That’s good to know.”
(On if he beat Head Coach Doug Pederson in Augusta) “No, I don’t think so. It was close though. I think
we tied the second day and he beat me by one stroke on the first day though. So, it was close.”
(On if there is anyone, he has taken advice from when it comes to his finances) “I have a great financial
team around me that has done a good job. I’ve been really blessed to make a decent amount of money
even before this, so I feel like that was important to have in place already. So, I really have a lot of faith
and trust in that. Having family and friends around you too, that’s the biggest thing, is having people that
you trust that are around you for the right reasons and that love you and care about you regardless of
how much money you make. I’ve always said it’s a blessing and I don’t want to sound insensitive because
the people that maybe don’t have the finances, it is a big deal and it means a lot and it gives you
freedom, but at the end of the day it’s just money. You can buy stuff with it and you can help people but
it doesn’t change who you are as a person. So, it’s amazing and I’m very grateful and you would think
you’d feel more when you accomplish this and you’re going to make a bunch of money, but it doesn’t
change who you are in any way. It just can exaggerate or amplify who you already are, so I’ve always
believed in that and it’s just money at the end of the day. What are you going to do? You can buy more
stuff with it. I’m grateful though, I don’t want to sound insensitive to people that might struggle and
don’t have the finances, but at the end of the day I think that’s a good perspective to keep.”
