“We threw a lot of balls last week. (Trevor) feels good. He said it wasn’t really an issue,” added Coen, who is entering his first season as Jaguars head coach. Lawrence is looking to bounce back from a tough 2024, where he dealt with multiple injuries, including a concussion in Week 13, which led him being placed on injured reserve. Lawrence had season-ending surgery on his non-throwing shoulder in December. Prior to the 2024 season, Lawrence signed a five-year, $275 million contract extension. He’ll have a dynamic wideout duo this season in Brian Thomas, Jr. and first-round pick Travis Hunter.

In April, Coen made clear that improving Lawrence’s footwork was his first order of business. Now two months removed from those comments, Coen is promisingly praising Lawrence’s progress in this regard while highlighting the critical role footwork plays in progressing through “reads” and maintaining the play design’s “timing.” Coen’s methods helped Baker Mayfield complete the second-most first-read passes (225) of the 2024 regular season while serving as the Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator. Coen adds that while his focus has largely been on Lawrence’s footwork, he is also pleased with how well Lawrence is “running the show.”

Lawrence told reporters he is “very optimistic” he will be fully ready for the start of the season. He is still recovering from the surgery he underwent on his non-throwing shoulder in December. Lawrence recently shed his sling and began throwing. He noted that he has been working with head coach Liam Coen to improve his footwork to fit the timing of Coen’s offense. It sounds like he’ll be brought back from the shoulder injury slowly, limiting his reps while learning a new offense once again. Coen’s scheme will be Lawrence’s third offense in five years with the Jags. Backup quarterback Nick Mullens will see some extra reps with the starters early in the offseason program.

According to Florio, this news comes from a source with “direct knowledge of the situation.” Reports of the Steelers reaching out to the Jaguars surfaced last Thursday, but little news has materialized on the topic since. Days after the Jaguars said any notion of trading Lawrence was “ridiculous,” Florio’s report eliminates any possibility that a call was ever made. Regardless, the Jaguars seem intent on staying with Lawrence, which makes sense from an organizational team point and a financial one, as a trade of Lawrence would result in a $100 million dead cap hit while also costing them $83 million against the cap, . It’s probably safe to assume this is the last we hear of this story.