The Jacksonville Jaguars’ season ended in disappointment. Even for Trevor Lawrence, his third NFL season was a step backwards. The quarterback signing a monster contract in the offseason no longer seems like a given.

With the Jacksonville Jaguars’ entire season on the line, it was a typical do-or-die situation. The Jags were in the redzone right before the end of the game against the Tennessee Titans. With a touchdown and a two-point conversion, they could have tied the game and kept their playoff dreams alive.

Great players excel in moments like this, but Trevor Lawrence clearly overthrew his tight end Evan Engram. The Jaguars lost the game and missed the playoffs.

Immediately afterwards, discussions began on social media and under the Jaguars’ result posts about how good Lawrence actually was. “We might have won if Trevor hadn’t played,” wrote one fan. “Trevor Lawrence is the most overrated quarterback in the league,” commented another.

Of course, there was a lot of frustration and emotion in these comments, but even in a completely sober way, Lawrence and the Jaguars are not where they wanted to be in January 2024 when the quarterback prodigy was signed as the number one pick in April 2021

Trevor Lawrence was considered the greatest talent of a generation

The now 24-year-old was considered the greatest talent since Andrew Luck, the best quarterback of a generation, a promise of a brighter future in Jacksonville.

Now three years are behind Lawrence and evaluating his performance is not so easy. The first year under Urban Meyer was more than difficult, the team and the head coach did not get along at all. The fact that Lawrence endured the situation calmly speaks for his character

In his second season under Doug Pederson, Lawrence was the franchise quarterback he had hoped for, leading the Jags to victory in the AFC South and all the way to the Divisional Round. Most memorable was the epic Wild Card Game against the Los Angeles Chargers, when the Jaguars turned a 27-point deficit into a win.

The injury-plagued Jaguars lose five of their last six games

With that in mind, this season has to be considered a disappointment. Although Lawrence and the Jaguars started the season strongly, they completely ran out of steam in the final third of the regular season.

Five of the last six games were lost, the playoffs and the seemingly attainable first seed in the AFC were squandered. In these games, Lawrence was not the quarterback of the first half of the season or last season, leading his team around the pitch and hardly making any mistakes. Instead, he committed far too many turnovers.

However, Lawrence must be given credit for the Jaguars’ bad luck with injuries. The offensive line in particular had to cope with a number of absences, which meant that the quarterback also had to take some serious hits. A concussion, an ankle injury and a shoulder injury caused him problems in the final spurt of the season.

One can at least speculate whether the signal caller with a pain-free shoulder would have thrown over Engram so clearly in the last game of the season. The fact that Lawrence played despite the injuries is just as much to his credit

Contract negotiations are scheduled for the 2024 offseason

There’s also no doubt that the 6-foot-3, 98-pounder can be a great NFL quarterback. He has the arm, the precision and the athleticism for it. However, unlike players such as Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow or Lamar Jackson, he has not yet been able to prove that he can make the difference.

With that in mind, it’s very interesting that Lawrence could actually sign a new contract with the Jaguars this spring. Under normal circumstances, this would have been a monster contract, perhaps even the biggest ever in the NFL.

But after a mixed season, it no longer seems a given that Lawrence will get a new contract. “It’s easy for me to say, but I wouldn’t do it,” the Washington Post quoted an anonymous general manager of an NFL team as saying, “I’d have to see one more year from him. He’s not the same player he was a year ago. I’m sure his agent wouldn’t like to hear that, but I couldn’t pay him like a top quarterback right now. “

Despite the bitter ending, will Lawrence get a payday?

In any case, the offseason should be very exciting in Jacksonville.

Are those in charge so confident in their quarterback that he’ll get a payday despite the bitter end to the season? Or will Lawrence play the coming season on probation, so to speak? In the NFL, where nobody is irreplaceable and individual fates play no role, even this option does not seem out of the question.

What is clear is that the 2024 NFL season will be very important for the former prodigy. Because then Trevor Lawrence will have to show how good he really is and that he can live up to the almost faded hymns of praise