Trevor Lawrence discusses building a legacy with Jaguars

During a recent conversation with NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, Trevor Lawrence discussed building a legacy with the Jacksonville Jaguars after he received a five-year contract extension worth up to $275M with $142M fully guaranteed at signing this offseason.

"Obviously, we’re a newer team, and I’m sure you know we don’t get a ton of respect around the league," Lawrence told Breer. "So it feels good to be in a position now where, when I got here as a rookie, didn’t have any respect, we weren’t good that year, had a really bad year, and we were able to bounce back the year after. Now, expectations have flipped."

The Jaguars debuted as an expansion team for the 1995 NFL season and, per ESPN, are one of four active clubs that have never appeared in a single Super Bowl game. Jacksonville lost the AFC Championship Game to the New England Patriots in January 2018 and more recently earned one playoff victory during the 2022-23 season.

Lawrence's overall lack of playoff experience and postseason success caused some to suggest this spring that the Jaguars should wait before handing him the keys to the kingdom via a lucrative contract extension. Those within the Jacksonville front office ignored such takes, and the first pick of the 2021 NFL Draft admitted to Breer that "there’s a lot more work to do" regarding the franchise's long-term goals.

"The dream is to win a championship here, and to be able to do that would be amazing, not only for pride for myself but for our team and for this city," Lawrence added. "Winning a championship can do so much good for a city. And Jacksonville, I think, is primed for that. It feels good to be playing for a team that hasn’t gotten much respect over the years. I don’t know, for me, that’s exciting."

As of Tuesday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Jaguars at +130 betting odds to make the playoffs for the upcoming season. Lawrence will have to do more than earn his second career postseason victory with the club to justify the deal he inked earlier this month.