Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence was recently the focus of a rumor that he could be traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers. It would have been a big-splash move, but there was some logic behind it, with the Steelers in need of a quarterback.
Both sides quickly shot down the rumor, and Lawrence recently spoke about it on the “Up & Adams” show.
Trevor Lawrence Doesn’t Know Where Trade Rumor Came From
Lawrence was the No. 1 overall pick by Jacksonville in 2021 and was seen as a generational talent who would bring the team a Super Bowl. The Jaguars won the AFC South in 2022 and made it to the Divisional Round with Lawrence selected to the Pro Bowl, but things have since been downhill.
A late-season collapse in 2023 kept Jacksonville out of the playoffs, and Lawrence went 2-8 in 2024 before a vicious hit to the head ended his season early. He ranked 31st in PFSN’s QB+ metric but is still the Jags’ franchise player. Jacksonville made him the third-highest-paid quarterback in the 2024 offseason, so the trade rumors seemed to come out of nowhere.
PFSN’s Stacey Mickles recently wrote about both teams’ responses to the trade rumor. ESPN’s Michael DiRocco said about Jacksonville, “Regarding recent report that Steelers have inquired about a trade for Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence, a Jaguars source said there’s ‘no chance’ they’ll trade Lawrence and called the idea ‘ridiculous.’”
Steelers beat writer Mark Kaboly confirmed DiRocco’s report.
“The Steelers in no way imaginable inquired about trading for Trevor Lawrence and have no interest in even reaching out to the Jaguars about acquiring Lawrence, according to a source.”
Lawrence himself finally broke his silence on “Up & Adams.”
“It’s funny. I didn’t really see anything, my agent texted me, and I saw it after…this is a report out there. I don’t think there’s anything to it, but I’ll check into it.
“It’s funny, though, when he sent it to me, I wouldn’t say your heart drops, but you’re kind of like, what? I have a no-trade clause in my contract, so I would know about it if I was getting traded or if that was something that was gonna happen. I’d have to be on board with it, which I’m not.”
.@Trevorlawrencee sets the record straight on the Steelers trade inquiry 👀🔊@Jaguars @AdamSchefter @heykayadams | #DUUUVAL pic.twitter.com/XBK65GQsZ5
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) February 17, 2025
The Jaguars shouldn’t be on board either, as a pre-June 1 trade would net them $100 million in dead money.
The Jacksonville QB made his fans happy, saying, “I’m happy here in Jacksonville. I plan on — we want to win a Super Bowl here, and I think we can do that. And I don’t want to leave Jacksonville. I’m happy here, obviously. I’m not going to Pittsburgh.”
It looks like Lawrence wants to stay a Jaguar, so other teams will need to look elsewhere for a new quarterback.