JAGUARS QB TREVOR LAWRENCE
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2022
(On his role as leader coming into his second year in the NFL) “I think obviously you kind of get to skip that phase. There’s a couple guys obviously that are new, and you get to know them, earn their respect, and build that relationship over this period of time. That’s kind of why you do OTA’s and we’re all together trying to learn everything and grow, so you earn that respect. But for the other guys that have been here, we all know each other. There’s that level of comfort with each other and just having that, I can kind of skip the phase of, ‘Okay, I’m the new guy coming in.’ [I] Just kind of have to do my job and see where we land at the end of this thing. So, now I have a lot more confidence in that and just the respect I’ve gained, who I’ve been the past year. Being able to lead more, definitely makes it easier.”
(On his relationship with Head Coach Doug Pederson and him being a former quarterback) “I think that’s big when you know your coach has been there, he’s been in your shoes, he’s played quarterback. And then too having that success at this level as a head coach, he’s won a Super Bowl, you’ve seen his run with the Eagles, all those things. Being able to lean on that for him to help us is huge. Obviously, that’s the goal is to win a Super Bowl and that’s going to remain the goal until we get there. So, having someone that’s done it and knows how to do it, that helps a lot and gives us a lot of confidence. So far, it’s been great to see kind of how he runs things. [He’s] really laid back, expects a lot out of us obviously. I think that’s important that you have those high expectations for your team, but I think he handles things the right way.”
(On starting over this season) “I wouldn’t say starting over. In some ways, yeah. I wouldn’t say everyone, but most of the coaches are new, still have a couple that carried over. But I would say just from an energy and morale boost, it does feel like starting over in a good way. There’s a lot of positivity in the locker room, the building, a lot of energy which has been great. But I’ll say, I think it’s important to just kind of learn from last year and always not necessarily think about that all the time, you don’t want to think about the bad things, but you want to use what you learned and not make the same mistakes especially as individuals, as players. Things that went right, went wrong, we all have things we can get better at. For me, I learned so much I wouldn’t say it’s like starting over because I’m thankful for those things I learned. I don’t want to start over. I want to keep those in my back pocket. So, stuff like that, I think it’s a good way to look at it and I think guys are doing that.”
(On his advice for this year’s number one overall pick in the draft) “Well I’m sure whoever it is, once he gets here, I can help him a little bit. Obviously, I had a lot of [adversity]. I don’t know if you could come up with more challenges besides getting injured your rookie year than we had, so I’m sure I could give a little bit of advice. I think just coming in and some of the stuff, like I said, when I got here last year was just coming in earning the respect of your teammates. That’s stuff you can do that it doesn’t take any talent, it doesn’t take any skill. You just come in and do things the right way, treat people right. I think that’s going to be big and then really just buy into what we’re trying to make the culture here. I think [Head Coach] Coach [Doug] Pederson has a clear vision of that, the whole staff does. Now it’s getting all of the players on board and we’re going to do that. Last year we bought in too. So, it’s having the right guys in place and all of us buying in, that’s what it takes and I’m confident we’re going to do that. So, whoever it is, that’s truly all you have to do. Your play on the field is going to speak for itself and obviously you have to perform. It’s about performance. Same thing for me, I have to play better next year. I didn’t play great last year. The work will show, and you’ll take care of that on the field, but just how you carry yourself and treat people [is important].”
JAGUARS CB SHAQUILL GRIFFIN
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2022
(On his offseason routine) “I’ve kind of been in it early. My main thing was I didn’t want to get out of shape. I wanted to try something a little different this year, so I’ve kind of been moving around since the season really ended. I gave myself maybe a week, a week and a half. I slowly got back into it. My main thing this offseason was ‘catch the football.’ I try to get maybe 75 to 100 catches a day. If I miss, then I’m catching on weekends, so whatever it takes. That’s what I’ve really been doing and getting my speed back. I’ve been working with some track guys, getting that explosion, that quick twitch, all that stuff back. I think that’s been my main focus, I need that ball in my hand, I need to go really fast.”
(On his critique of his 2021 season performance) “I feel like I was consistent coverage-wise, but like I said, creating turnovers, making big-time play in big-time games, that’s what we need. I feel like that’s why they brought me here, so I feel like that’s the biggest thing, and red zone stops. I told them I want to continue to get better at third down, getting off the field, but in the red zone, it’s a no touchdown zone, no one gets in. So, I think my biggest focus is just shutting people down completely throughout the whole field, first, second, third [down] and never giving up a touchdown in the red zone. That’s something I’m going to dial in now, now that we’re back, just a chance to really focus back on that. Red zone stuff will be big, but the main thing was just being consistent and creating turnovers.”
(On the new coaching staff for the 2022 season) “Getting a chance to see the new coaches for the first time and having everybody back, it’s been awesome. It’s a different feel. I love that feeling and getting a chance to be with coaches who have experience in the league. The first day we met with coaches and people were saying, ‘Yeah, I was in the league 10 years, 11 years, 10 years, 12 years’ that have actually played. That’s amazing to me and that’s a person who can understand anything that I might see or go through or maybe in the future that can help me out. I feel like the atmosphere is different because it’s so relatable.”
(On building trust among teammates in the offseason) “Just coming in [with] open arms, I’ve always been a guy where I give you the trust until proven otherwise. My first-time meeting [you], I’m going to give you everything I have. I’m going to give you all of me, my trust, my loyalty until proven otherwise and that’s what we’re building. All these new faces, I let them know this is everything you’re going to get every single day. Nothing’s going to change with me. I’m here to work and I’m hoping you do the same thing. You can trust me and I’m hoping I can trust you. That’s the type of bond that we’re trying to build. I’m talking to the receivers, trying to get the receivers to start hanging out with us more. Now it’s starting to be more offense [and] defense [together]. I know last year I was talking about let’s get the defense, let’s get the DBs and the d-line, the linebackers hanging. But I think now, it’s kind of bigger than that. I need to be able to trust the receivers. The receivers need to be able to trust me. If Trevor [Lawrence] wants to go hangout, I’ll have the running backs, the o-line. I feel like it might be bigger than I was thinking last year, and I’ve only learned that from what I went through last year when it comes to that maturity. Right now, we’re trying to build that loyalty. That’s huge, that’s huge for us.”
JAGUARS RB TRAVIS ETIENNE JR.
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2022
(On the progress recovering from his Lisfranc injury) “Progress on my Lisfranc, I would say I’m about [in the] 85-90 percent area. I’m not doing everything but I’m doing the majority of the stuff. I got back, I want to say, I felt maybe like two or three weeks ago where I felt like I could really get back to myself, just being out there running full speed and just feeling fast, just running. It felt awesome just to be out there just running again. So, I would say I’m about 85-90 percent.”
(On the most difficult part of rehab) “The most difficult part is just the time, just how long it takes to actually get back to yourself and just knowing how far the season is away. I would say the day to day. I had to fall in love with the mundane, so I would say just waking up every day knowing that where you want to be, you’re not going to get there today and just put in that work. I would say just fall in love with the mundane.”
(On what he learned from the 2021 season despite not being able to step on the field) “Just the stuff away from the game, just being a pro. I feel like what I learned is that I don’t think I ever took the game serious. Well, I took it serious[ly], but I don’t feel like I really appreciated everything the game had to offer. And I feel like being away from it, you appreciate how great the game is, the opportunity to play in the National Football League. Just growing up as a kid, going to school each and every day, my teacher always asked me what I wanted to be, and I would say an engineer or something just because I didn’t want them to talk down on my dreams. So, finally getting here and seeing that it’s possible for you to do that and play football for money, it’s crazy.”
(On his impressions of the new coaching staff) “Just going off of [Head Coach] Coach [Doug] Pederson’s resume, he’s won two Super Bowls, he’s been there. I think it was like 2017. He knows what he’s doing, so it’s easier to get behind a guy who’s been there, who has the blueprint. It’s just us trusting him and following his blueprint and I feel like things will work out. I’m definitely excited to see what the future has for us.”
