Former NFL quarterback Tim Hasselbeck has declared that Trevor Lawrence is out of excuses with the Jacksonville Jaguars and needs to make a leap in 2025. Hasselbeck stated that it’s time for Lawrence to prove that he can lead a franchise and make good on his team’s decision to draft him first overall in 2021.
‘Prove That You Can Carry a Franchise’ – Tim Hasselbeck Strong Message to Trevor Lawrence
Trevor Lawrence, while a perfectly serviceable NFL quarterback, has yet to live up to the enormous hype that surrounded his arrival in the league in 2021. The quarterback has recorded just one winning season over his four years in Jacksonville and won just two of his 10 starts in 2024.
Speaking on ESPN, Hasselbeck declared that the time has come for Lawrence to finally take off as the leader of the franchise and turn the team’s fortunes around.
“At some point, it can’t be, ‘Yeah, the guy’s doing a great job, he’s learning the playbook,’ it’s gotta be, ‘Hey, he makes every single person in our building better.'” Hasselbeck stated that not only does Lawrence have to improve his own game, but inspire those around him to do the same.
“That’s what a franchise quarterback should do. He should make the coaches better. He should make the players better. He should just elevate everybody in the entire building.” And while many have given Lawrence the benefit of the doubt in the early years of his career, Hasselbeck suggested that the young quarterback is out of excuses.
“We can say, ‘It wasn’t a great year,’ that first year, and then ‘It was kind of a restart year,’ his second year, and then, ‘Obviously we’ve had some change and we’re doing it again.’ But I think we’re over that now, and we’re at the point now where it’s like, ‘Hey, prove that you can carry a franchise.’ Because that is what you expect somebody to do when you draft them with the first overall pick.”
"Prove that you can carry a franchise." 👀
Tim Hasselbeck on what Trevor Lawrence needs to do this season. pic.twitter.com/u4ru8wuL8J
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL)
How Can Lawrence Take the Next Step?
It’s very easy to blame coaching for a young quarterback’s struggles; just look at the hype surrounding Caleb Williams this offseason. But without speaking ill of what has gone before, it’s impossible not to think that Liam Coen will be a considerable upgrade on any offensive coach that Lawrence has played with in the past.
With Coen as offensive coordinator, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers totaled the league’s third-most offensive yards in 2024, and over 1,500 more yards than the Jaguars. Most of that yardage went through Baker Mayfield, who registered the third-most passing yards in the NFL.
Lawrence lost both Evan Engram and Christian Kirk this offseason, the two players he’s targeted the most during his career. He did, though, gain a notable target in Travis Hunter, who will partner with 2024 rookie Brian Thomas Jr. in 2025. If Hunter can hit the ground running and Coen can get the offense moving, we may finally see Lawrence become the player everyone had hoped he would be back in 2021.