Jaguars at Cowboys: Will New No. 1 QB Trevor Lawrence Play?

Jags tag Trevor Lawrence as official starter for Week 1

The Dallas Cowboys could get the first look at No. 1 pick Trevor Lawrence as the official starting quarterback of the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Cowboys and Jags close out the preseason Sunday at AT&T Stadium.

The anticlimactic announcement Wednesday by first-year Jacksonville coach Urban Meyer that his prized rookie would be the starter for Week 1 put to rest a quarterback battle that never really was. No one really thought Gardner Minshew would win the job over the former Clemson star.

"Moving forward, we're not making it bigger than it is," Lawrence said after the announcement. "I'm going to be the starter and just got to play well, so that doesn't change."

Meyer, after weeks of saying he wasn’t prepared to name a starter, finally put an end to any speck of speculation.

"We wanted him to earn it, as we do with every position," Meyer told reporters. "We felt he has, after [Monday] night's performance was -- it was good, obviously not great. We didn't run the ball very well. I kind of in my mind had that [decision] after the second preseason [game] that we kind of have to get someone ready to play in three weeks."

Meyer, after weeks of saying he wasn’t prepared to name a starter, finally put an end to any speck of speculation.

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Lawrence hasn’t exactly lit it up this preseason. The Jaguars first-team offense struggled in its latest outing Monday against the New Orleans Saints, with Lawrence playing the entire first half and completing 14-of-23 passes for 113 yards.

“There just wasn’t much rhythm in the first half,” Meyer told reporters earlier this week. “We just have to keep swinging. I’m looking for fighters and I’m looking for competitors. We will have a locker room full of competitors.”

Lawrence is definitely that. His overall body of work during camp and the preseason plus upside as the franchise’s centerpiece made this move a no-brainer. Lawrence has looked the part of a starting quarterback with his poise and mobility.

No word yet on whether Lawrence plays in the preseason finale against the Cowboys - who will not be letting Dak Prescott play, though he'll start the regular-season opener at Tampa on Sept. 9. And of course, Lawrence's real debut as the official starter will be in the Jags' opener Sept. 12 against the Houston Texans.

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