Trevor Lawrence Reacts to Jalen Hurts' Megadeal

The Jaguars' franchise quarterback wasn't shy about what Jalen Hurts' deal means for the next group of young quarterbacks.

Trevor Lawrence couldn't help but smile. 

Asked about the five-year, $255 million deal signed by Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts earlier this week, Lawrence made it clear what the $179.3 million guaranteed deal means for the future of the position. 

“That’s a big one. I think that’s awesome for guys to be rewarded for their play, and not even just their play, but just, I don’t know Jalen super well, but it seems like his character is great, and he seems like a great leader," Lawrence said. 

Of course, the conversation will soon pivot to Lawrence and what his future second contract could look like with the Jaguars. The Jaguars would surely wish negotiations would go as smoothly as they did for the Eagles and Hurts, but yesterday's price will never remain today's price.

"I think it’s always awesome to see guys get rewarded for that and for a team to obviously believe in him that much and kind of go all in on him, so it’s cool to see obviously a big number, which is good for the future of guys playing that position, so I think it’s really cool," Lawrence said.

In 17 starts in 2022, Lawrence completed 387 of 584 passes for 4,113 yards and 25 TDs. His 387 completions were the most in a single season in franchise history and his five rushing TDs were tied with Garrard for the most in single-season franchise history.

Lawrence joined Bengals QB Joe Burrow and Bills QB Josh Allen as the only players in the NFL with 25-plus passing TDs and at least five rushing TDs. Against the Titans in Week 14, Lawrence set a career-high with 368 yards passing and was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance.

The second-year quarterback totaled four 300-yard passing games and orchestrated three comebacks of 17-plus points, including a comeback from behind 27-0 in the postseason against the Chargers. 

"It helps, you know, it helps to have a young, talented quarterback that is the franchise guy still on a rookie deal. So you can, you know, sign your own free agents, sign other free agents, you know, and make decisions now on your roster that hopefully can set you up," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said this month.

"Because one day you're gonna have to pay the quarterback and, you know, you're gonna have to use resources there to get him signed. But that's probably going to take away from something else on your team. But now's the time to, I think with any organization, now's the time to you know, make those decisions, try to get those guys locked up long-term so you don't have to worry about it in a year."