Steelers can't ignore elephant in room with sketchy Trevor Lawrence trade 'rumors'

I would be very surprised if the Jacksonville Jaguars were willing to trade Trevor Lawrence. The Jags just hired former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen in part because of their investment in Lawrence, who is one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL. That makes the recent social media buzz all the more confusing.

Ryan Burr, an analyst for The Big Ten Network, claimed out of the blue that the Jacksonville Jaguars have received calls on Lawrence, namely from the Pittsburgh Steelers. I don't doubt Pittsburgh would be interested, but the source itself is misplaced here. Brent Martineau, a reporter for CBS in Jacksonville, was quick to bring us back to reality.

If the Jaguars were to trade Lawrence right now, they'd take on over $200 million in dead money. If they were to trade him after June 1, that number decreases slightly to $117 million. Basically, Jacksonville would have to fork over far too much capital to trade a player who is still productive.

Steelers wouldn't be able trade for Trevor Lawrence even if he were available

As for the Steelers side of things, Pittsburgh is desperate for a quarterback. If Lawrence were actually made available (and not a figment of our imagination, like this tweet from Burr), Omar Khan would certainly make a call or two. The asking price for a player of Lawrence's caliber would be at least a first-round pick and second-round pick, if not a little more, in this year's NFL Draft.

A looming issue is that Pittsburgh will host the 2026 NFL Draft, so if the Jaguars want a second first rounder (or high selection in that draft), the Steelers could be hesitant to do so, not wanting to upset their own fanbase in attendance.

To make matters worse, Lawrence's injury history isn't ideal for a team that praises toughness, and often puts their quarterbacks in vulnerable positions as a result. Russell Wilson and Justin Fields took a lot of sacks last season. Lawrence was forced to miss time with concussion-like symptoms and a shoulder injury.

The elephant in the room, in the Steelers case, is that there aren't many quarterback solutions available this offseason. Lawrence isn't walking through that door, and Pittsburgh has a draft pick in the 20's.

The free-agent quarterback market is dry, unless Pittsburgh believes a lot in Sam Darnold and is willing to pay him QB1 money. The most likely result of Khan's QB search is the return of Fields who, while promising, has earned enough chances to know he isn't an All-Pro caliber starter.