The Jacksonville Jaguars have a new head coach and a rookie starting quarterback, but Urban Meyer does not expect the team to be viewed as a rebuilding project.
Trevor Lawrence will almost certainly be the Jaguars’ starting quarterback in Week 1, but Meyer refuses to make that official. He also claimed this week that the team is not going to be all that patient with Lawrence and expects the former Clemson star to perform in his first NFL season.
“If he’s not the quarterback we think we can win with — we haven’t made that decision,” Meyer told NFL.com’s Judy Battista. “It’s not a four-year plan. It’s not fair to these players. It’s a one-year plan.”
That is almost certainly an exaggeration. Remember, Peyton Manning threw 28 interceptions in his rookie season. The Indianapolis Colts didn’t bail on him, and the Jaguars aren’t going to give up on Lawrence no matter what happens in 2021. They aren’t going to fire Meyer after one year, either.
Gardner Minshew made it clear with a hilarious quote recently that he is still fighting for a starting job. It would take an awful lot for him to earn it, just as it would take an awful lot for Meyer to abandon the franchise’s long-term plan in Year 1.
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