Doug Pederson on the Jaguars' Extending Trevor Lawrence: 'The Decision Was Easy'

Doug Pederson is all in on Trevor Lawrence becoming the Jaguars' franchise passer.

Jan 21, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson gives the play to quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) against the Kansas City Chiefs during the second half in the AFC divisional round game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports / Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

For Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson, the decision to make quarterback Trevor Lawrence one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL was far from a difficult one.

After two years of leading Lawrence through his fair share of highs and lows, Pederson and Lawrence have built enough confidence in each other to make every side feel like a winner after Lawrence's neal contract last month.

.@Jaguars HC Doug Pederson has all of the confidence in his QB1, @Trevorlawrencee. 👏 pic.twitter.com/q4iiL7q0H3

— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) July 11, 2024

"The decision was easy. You know, we all feel in the building that he's our guy and he is obviously the face of the franchise. And he was drafted a few years ago, first round pick, to be that guy. And we have all of the confidence in the world. We are just excited for he and his family to get this contract behind him as we head into this season into '24 and just continue to build on the last two years," Pederson said on NFL Network.

"Wasn't a perfect finish to last season, we had some injuries. Trevor is one of those guys that we have to continue to keep healthy. But he is on the right path and we continue to work, we build the pieces around him, get our run game going a bit, play some good defense and see what happens."

The Jaguars agreed to terms with the quarterback and former No. 1 pick last month, agreeing to a five-year deal worth $275 million with $200 million in guarantees and $142 million fully guaranteed.

Lawrence's deal will pay him an average of $55 million a season, which ties him with Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow as the highest-paid player on an annual basis in the NFL.

Since being drafted No. 1 in 2021, Lawrence has started 50 regular season games. Lawrence ranks fourth in franchise history in passing yards with 11,770 and is fourth in touchdown passes with 58.

Since being drafted, Lawrence has been voted as a team captain by his teammates each year of his NFL career and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2022 after recording 387 completions for 4,113 passing yards and 25 touchdowns with a passer rating of 95.2.

During the 2023 season, he completed 370 passes becoming the only quarterback in franchise history to start his career with three seasons of at least 300 completions and the second quarterback in team history to record at least 300 completions in three consecutive seasons. He has been named AFC Offensive Player of the Week three times in his career, twice in 2022 (Week 3 and 12) and once in 2023 (Week 11).

In his career, Lawrence has also posted 205 rushing attempts for 964 yards and 11 touchdowns.

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