Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) is tackled by New Orleans Saints cornerback Ken Crawley (25) during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence learns lesson on sliding in NFL

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated 8/24/21

It didn't take Monday night's preseason game to let everyone know Trevor Lawrence is a fierce competitor, but the rookie quarterback's competitive edge almost led to a serious injury against the New Orleans Saints when he chose to run the ball himself and not slide.

Sure, his goal to get the first down was clear, but his decision to not slide almost resulted in his knee getting taken out.

With the first game of the regular season just a couple of weeks away, Jags head coach Urban Meyer would greatly prefer if his rookie QB slid and protected himself.

"I’d like to see that," Meyer said via ProFootballTalk. "I didn’t have a chance to talk to him yet. I will. But I know what kind of competitor he is, and he was gonna get that first down. Obviously, you’d like to see him get down."

"It was third down, that’s the only reason I did it," Lawerence said postgame when asked about his choice to not slide. “I thought about it right there. There was a little pocket to slide, but they mark you back from where you start your slide so I wouldn’t have got the first down. Third and fourth down you got to go get it."

There's no doubt the Jaguars are happy the first-year quarterback is being so aggressive in a preseason game. However, they'd probably prefer him to have both knees intact for Week 1.

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