Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence on drama: 'You can't always be in the headlines' to win

Things have not gone as planned for the Jacksonville Jaguars and rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence under first-year head coach Urban Meyer this season. Jacksonville sits at 2-11 heading into Week 15, Lawrence largely has failed to meet expectations with his play, and Meyer has generated controversial headlines and drama via multiple confirmed and reported off-the-field incidents. 

Lawrence spoke with reporters amid preparations for this Sunday's game against the 2-11 Houston Texans and made it clear everyone involved with the Jaguars needs to work to eliminate such distractions moving forward. 

"You're always going to have some form of drama. I've learned that the NFL is just more drama in general than college, no matter where you're at," Lawrence explained, per Michael DiRocco of ESPN. "But you're right. There's been a lot. To your point, I do think that has to change and, that's something that we need to work on for sure.

"So you can't always be in the headlines. You just got to go play football and that's where we're trying to get and I have no doubt we'll get there, but for sure [it has to change]."

The No. 1 overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft continued: 

"Obviously there's been a lot of drama. Like whatever has caused everything, who even knows at this point, but there's been a lot of drama and for me I think it's important to be truthful. But with that, you can't say everything that's on your mind. You have to have a filter and you've got to be careful.

"I have a lot of appreciation for all those guys in there that've been working to try to get this thing right and it hasn't been easy. So I have a lot of appreciation for the players, for the coaches, for everybody. ... Obviously you can't, like I said, always say exactly what's on your mind, but the truth is in there somewhere always with me, so that's what I try to do."

Earlier in the day, Jaguars wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. said that he and Meyer handled a previous argument about players at the position "like grown men." Even if Jones was truthful with that remark, Meyer seems to be on borrowed time with an organization that may need to make drastic changes this offseason to get the most out of Lawrence, who, according to ESPN stats, is 31st among eligible quarterbacks with a 68.9 passer rating and 28th with a total QBR of 32.0.