NFL Vet Doesn’t Want to Give Trevor Lawrence Immunity From Criticism Anymore

There haven’t been many NFL prospects who entered the league with more hype than Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence back in 2021. He was one of the first players to inspire “Tank for ___” chants during the prior NFL season. Teams were quite literally competing to finish with the worst record so they could take him No. 1 overall.

The Jacksonville Jaguars won that battle to the bottom, but they still don’t have much to show for it. And some are starting to take issue with the lack of accountability Lawrence has been given in the media for the Jags’ struggles over the past few years. One person who wants to see the blame placed more squarely on Lawrence is Jason Cabinda.

The former six-year NFL veteran and current NFL analyst believes that while there are other problems in Duval, Lawrence doesn’t catch nearly enough flak when his mistakes lead to losses… like the ill-advised pick-six he threw on Sunday to seal a brutal 36-29 loss to the division rival Houston Texans, in which the Jags had led 29-10 heading into the fourth quarter.

“We don’t talk about the Trevor Lawrence problem. When things go wrong, Trevor Lawrence, for some reason, somehow, someway, we find somewhere else to point besides the quarterback,” said the former linebacker on CBS.

“Besides the $100 million quarterback… When games like this happen, I don’t understand why do we not point the finger at Trevor Lawrence. I’m just tired of it. Why?” asked the analyst.

Lawrence had an impressive season in 2022 in his second year, leading the Jags to a 9-8 record and a playoff win. He even received some MVP votes that year. But since then, it’s been a bit of a debacle in Duval. Lawrence has a 15-20 record over the last three seasons, including an ugly 2-8 mark last year.

But despite that, Lawrence was still handed the standard $55 million per year contract (five years, $275 million, to be exact) that is the going rate for “franchise quarterbacks” in 2024, despite not showing the promise he once did coming out of college as a National Champion and Heisman Trophy finalist.

Cabinda, who went undrafted, pointed out that when Lawrence signed that mega-deal—which leaves him tied for the second-highest per-year salary in the league—no one “batted an eye.” Not like they did when the San Francisco 49ers signed Brock Purdy, a former seventh-round pick that led his team to the literal Super Bowl in 2023, to a similar deal this past spring.

“We had Brock Purdy contract discussions, and we’re talking so much. Talking about, he’s Mr. Irrelevant, and where he’s drafted. But a guy who’s drafted in the first round, that hasn’t seemed to get his organization anywhere close to where it should be. But when it was time for him to get extended, nobody said a word, nobody batted an eye. They gave the $100 million without even asking questions.”

Obviously, Cabinda is a little misinformed with his “$100 million” tag there. It’s $250 million or bust for QBs nowadays. But he makes a good point. Why is Lawrence, a No. 1 overall pick in 2021, held to a lower standard than a guy who was the last pick in the draft just a year later?

The numbers suggest Lawrence is not progressing, but regressing in 2025. His completion percentage (59.5), TD rate (3.2), success rate (40.4), yards per attempt (6.3), and passer rating (79.3) are all at their lowest since the Clemson product’s rookie year.