Analyst breaks down struggles of Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence before injury

Before Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence was sidelined because of an injury, he generated headlines and raised eyebrows due to his on-the-field struggles over the first half of the season. 

For a piece published on Wednesday by ESPN's Michael DiRocco, former signal-caller and current analyst Dan Orlovsky discussed why Lawrence didn't "look like the same player he was in 2022 and the first part of 2023" before his latest setback. 

"I feel like a lot of the times the why of the play call doesn't seem like it's really understood by the quarterback or the quarterback is expecting to do something with the ball than kind of what the desire is for the play," Orlovsky said about Lawrence. "... It feels like when they're calling their shot plays, Trevor's not aligned with when to rip it or whatnot."

Lawrence dealt with injury issues as the 2023 Jaguars fell from 8-3 to 9-8 but received a five-year contract extension worth up to $275M with $142M fully guaranteed this past offseason. He was then one of the league's more disappointing starting quarterbacks of the ongoing campaign as Jacksonville dropped seven of its first nine games. 

According to Pro Football Reference, Lawrence began Wednesday ranked 25th in the league among qualified players with an 87.9 passer rating and 33rd with a 61.3% completion percentage for the season. Over nine contests, he tossed 11 touchdown passes and six interceptions. 

"There's not a lot of easy completion plays that are built in," Orlovsky added about the offense Lawrence has played in this season. "I feel like they say they want them [but] they don't call them that much. It feels [like] Trevor doesn't throw them that much. He actually doesn't throw them that well either. So I just think that there's a disconnect when it comes to what they're trying to go accomplish."

Breakdowns offered by Orlovsky and others, coupled with the team's record from last December through this coming January, will likely result in Jaguars owner Shad Khan replacing head coach Doug Pederson, perhaps with a big name such as Bill Belichick. Belichick is hardly known as a so-called "quarterback whisperer," so Khan could hire a younger offensive-minded coach to get Lawrence on the right track beginning in September 2025.