Trevor Lawrence contract details, grade: Jaguars avoid any drama with megadeal

Trevor Lawrence has it all. Magnificent hair, a cannon arm, and more money than he knows what to do with.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have agreed to terms on a five-year, $275 million extension to retain the former No. 1 pick, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. The contract — worth $55 million annually, and with $200 million guaranteed — is tied with Joe Burrow's for the most expensive QB contract in NFL history.

The Jags are coming off a 9-8 season, finishing second in a tightly contested AFC South. Lawrence appeared in 16 games, completing 65.6 percent of his passes for 4,016 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions.

Trevor Lawrence inks historic contract with Jaguars after up-and-down third season

Lawrence has always been on this trajectory. A former national champion at Clemson, Lawrence has every tool in the toolkit. He's listed at 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds, comfortable standing tall in the pocket and delivering challenging passes into traffic. When forced outside the pocket, Lawrence has the mobility and coordination to improvise and create on the fly.

Last season was a slight step back for Lawrence, who previously dominated as an NFL sophomore. He finished seventh in MVP voting and made the Pro Bowl in 2022, tossing a career-high 25 touchdowns compared to a career-low eight interceptions. The 2023 campaign saw Lawrence struggle more with accuracy, often forcing the football into nonexistent windows and crumbling under pressure in the pocket.

Decision-making is the next big hurdle for Lawrence. He took 35 sacks last season, compared to 27 in his second year. Some of that blame belongs with the O-line, but Lawrence needs to be more consistent with his reads and get the ball out quicker.

In terms of natural talent, however, few quarterbacks in the NFL can touch Lawrence. This is very much an investment in the future for the Jaguars, who avoid the lingering distraction of a contract in limbo.

This deal resets the market for quarterbacks. It was one thing for Burrow to get his $275 million bag after a Super Bowl appearance and multiple deep postseason runs. Lawrence has never finished more than a game over .500 and Jacksonville has never made it past the Divisional Round. That one 30-point comeback against Brandon Staley's Chargers had more to do with the Chargers than with Lawrence and the Jags' offense.

We only have two seasons of quality football on which to judge Lawrence. He was quite poor as a rookie and, frankly, he wasn't terribly hot in his third season either. He is undeniably gifted, but the Jags are backing up the Brink's truck without much hard proof of Lawrence's NFL excellence. That isn't necessarily bad, but it does portend risk. It also gives every upstart QB locked in contract negotiations a ton of bargaining power. Jordan Love has to be elated right now. And on another note, Dak Prescott too.

Jacksonville didn't really have a choice, again. What was the alternative? Draw this out by quibbling over $20-30 million and cause issues in the locker room? Use the franchise tag? Nope. This is the state of the quarterback market. Above average, young signal-callers are going to fetch absurd value in the open market. As such, teams need to build out the roster in advance — ideally before that quarterback moves off his rookie deal, and before all his best teammates get paid, too.

This feels like a whole lot of money for Trevor Lawrence because it is. He has not earned $275 million by traditional standards, but we are watching the QB market transform before our eyes. We can't necessarily judge this based on "traditional standards."

If Lawrence and the Jags finish 9-8 again next season and his interceptions total ends up in the mid-teens, we might need to have a conversation. If he takes the leap we all know he's capable of, Jacksonville won't lose much sleep over this.

Trevor Lawrence contract grade: C+